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COMMERCIAL  WORK  AND  TRAINING 
FOR  GIRLS 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
mw  yom:  •  boston  •  Chicago  •  daixas 

ATLANTA   •   SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOKBAY   •  CAI,CUTTA 
MELBOUKNK 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA.  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


COMMERCIAL  WORK  AND 
TRAINING  FOR  GIRLS  • 


BY 
JEANNETTE  EATON 

VOCATIONAL  INVESTIGATOR 

BERTHA  M.  STEVENS 

DIRECTOR 


N^m  flnrk 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1915 

AU  rights  reserved 


COPTBIGHT,  1916, 

Bt  the  macmillan  company. 

Set  up  and  electrotjrped.    Published  March,  1915. 


Berwick  &  Smith  Co.,  Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


It  was  under  the  auspices  of  the  Co-operative  Employment 
Bureau  for  Girls,  Cleveland,  that  the  material  for  this  book  was 
gathered  and  put  into  book  form. 

During  the  last  year  this  organization  has  adopted  its  new 
name.  The  Girls'  Bureau,  to  cover  more  adequately  its  three  lines 
of  activity:  Employment  (The  Vocational  Guidance  Bureau); 
Recreation  (Lake  Breeze  Camp);  Saving  (Vacation  Savings 
Club).  The  Vocational  Guidance  Bureau  is  located  in  the  City 
Hall  and,  although  at  present  only  tentatively  a  division  of  The 
Public  Welfare  Department  of  the  city,  enjoys  unique  advan- 
tages from  its  municipal  connection. 

Generous  and  valuable  assistance  in  follow-up  visiting  and  in 
tabulating  statistics  was  given  by  a  group  of  twenty-five  volun- 
teer workers.  To  these  persons  and  to  Miss  Ruth  Morris  who 
contributed  the  illustrations,  the  committee  expresses  apprecia- 
tion. 

Myrta  L.  Jones 
J.  Martin  Telleen 
William  H.  Brett,  Chairman. 
Publication  Committee. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/commercialworktrOOeatorich 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 
Introduction ix 

PART  I 

Chapter 

I.  Public  Commercial  Schools 3 

A  study  of  the  curriculum.  Tabulation  of  occupational 
histories  of  graduates.    Criticisms  and  suggestions. 

II.  Private  Commercial  Schools 21 

Entrance  requirements,  methods  and  equipment.  Im- 
pressions of  teaching  force  and  pupils.  Verbatim 
comments  of  employers  and  graduates.  Criticisms 
and  suggestions. 

III.  Commercial  Courses  in  Parochla.l  Schools 65 

Methods  and  equipment.    Personnel  of  teaching  force. 

Criticisms  and  suggestions. 

IV.  Miscellaneous  Commercial  Schools  and  Courses    80 
Semi-Philanthropic,  Correspondence,  Private  Tutors. 

V.  Night  Commercial  Schools 85 

A  survey  of  opportunities  offered  and  needs  not  met. 

VI.  The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children 101 

Charts  and  verbatim  testimony  from  private  school 
graduates,  showing  consequences  of  immaturity 
and  poor  preparation.  Constructive  recommenda- 
tions. 

VII.  Solicitation  of  Grade  School  Children 122 

Extent,  methods  and  results  of  private  school  soliciting 
agents.   Effect  upon  high  school  registration.  Con- 
structive recommendations. 
vii 


viii  Table  of  Contents 

Chapter  Page 

VIII.  Vocational  Guidance 138 

Shows  the  relation  of  the  public  school  to  the  question 
of  vocational  guidance  generally;  also  to  the  ques- 
tion of  vocational  training  in  commercial  work. 

rX.  Conclusion 157 

Summary  of  recommendations,  including  suggestions  for 
legislation. 

PART  II 

I.  A  Classification  of  Office  Work 169 

A  study  of  2816  office  positions. 

II.  Woman's  Conquest  of  Office  Work 181 

Development  of  work  for  women.  List  of  unusual  posi- 
tions.   The  trend  for  the  future. 

III.  The  Invasion  of  the  Machine 201 

Description  of  office  machines  and  comments  on  their 

use.    Table  of  local  opportunities  for  training. 

IV.  Conditions  in  Office  Work 226 

Physical,  economic  and  moral  conditions.  Advance- 
ment.   Suggestions  for  legislation. 

V.  Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer 249 

Suggests  a  minimum  degree  of  qualification  in  person- 
ality, age  and  training.  Discusses  assignment  of 
work  and  the  place  of  routine. 

Appendix 273 

Bibliography x 285 


INTRODUCTION 

One  time  last  winter  when  the  Co-operative 
Employment  Bureau  for  Girls  wanted  to  get  in 
touch  with  a  stenographer — ^just  a  plain,  nice  girl, 
with  passable  intelligence — it  placed  an  advertise- 
ment in  the  morning  papers.  Before  noon  17  ap- 
plicants had  appeared  and  presented  their  qual- 
ifications. Seventeen  girls  for  one  job — that  not  a 
notably  desirable  one;  and,  of  the  17,  but  one  girl 
had  even  the  superficial  requirements  for  the  place 
though  all  had  had  so-called  business  training.  Some 
were  foreign  girls,  whose  broken  English  would 
have  made  a  strange  mess  of  the  telephoning.  One 
was  a  tiny,  shy  child,  whose  mother  came  with  her 
and  did  all  the  talking.  Ahnost  all  were  ignorant — 
as  their  speech  soon  showed — and  they  were  un- 
tidy, if  not  unsuitable,  in  their  dress.  Chewing 
gum,  paint  and  strong  perfume  fortified  not  a  few, 
but  their  unfitness  did  not  lessen  the  pang  one  felt 
in  tmning  them,  one  after  another,  away;  for  they 

ix 


X  Introdttction 

were,  to  a  girl,  nervously  eager  for  the  place.  "If 
I  can't  get  the  office  work,"  some  said,  knowing 
we  are  an  Employment  Bureau,  '^I  will  take  any- 
thing else,"  and  they  actually  accepted,  with  for- 
lorn resignation,  mechanical,  unskilled  factory  work. 
Again,  in  the  spring,  the  Bureau  made  another 
trial  of  public  advertising,  this  time  not  because  a 
real  position  sought  an  applicant,  but  in  order  to 
experiment  further  into  the  situation  which  our 
first  experience  seemed  to  disclose.  Applicants 
were  asked  to  reply  by  letter,  mentioning  experience 
and  training.  This  advertisement,  42  times  inserted, 
brought  427  replies,  an  approximate  ratio  of  10  girls 
to  one  place.  We  let  the  following  examples  of 
replies  received  speak  for  themselves: 

Cleveland,  O. 
11/24/13. 
Dear  Sir  or  Madam: 

I  am  a  grad.  of  Hodge  School  at  the  year  of  1911.    I  am  also 
a  grad.  of  the  Ohio  Business  College  that  is  of  Bookkeeping  and 
I  am  nearly  through  sten.  about  a  month  more.    I  am  18  yrs.  old 
and  have  had  one  months  experience. 
Hoping  to  hear  from  you  about  this  place,  I  remain, 

Yours  truly, 

(Sgd.)  Miss  A 


Introduction  xi 

Cleveland,  O.  Jan.  12, 1914- 
Dear  Sir: 

I  wish  to  apply  for  the  position  as  stenographer  you  advertised 
in  the  to-nights  paper. 

I  am  of  the  Ohio  Business  College,  and  think  that  I  am  well 
able  to  take  dictation.    As  to  the  salary  that  concerns  entirely 
upon  you  and  my  work,  any  sum  is  acceptable. 
Awaiting  a  prompt  reply,  I  am, 

Yours  truly, 

(Sgd.)  MissE R . 


Cleveland,  0.  Oct.  17,  WIS. 
Dear  Sir: — 

In  referrence  to  your  want  ad  in  The  Press,  I  am  eighteen  years 
old  and  a  graduate  of  The  Edmiston  Business  College,  3028 
W.  25th  St.  having  completed  a  full  coarse  of  bookkeeping  and 
stenography.  Have  had  no  experience  as  yet  and  am  there  for 
unable  to  say  just  what  I  am  worth.  Hoping  to  receive  your 
favorable  reply,  I  remain. 

Yours  truly, 

(Sgd.)  Miss  M M . 


Cleveland,  O.  Nov.  8, 1913. 
Box  217 

I  here  by  apply  for  the  position  as  a  stenographer.  Am  17 
years  of  age  and  have  attended  the  Ohio  Business  College.  I 
reside  at  2536  E.  33rd  St. 

(No  name  signed.    Written  in  pencil.) 


xii  Introduction 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Nov.  8,  1913. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  seen  your  advertisement  in  the  Press  and  I  thought  I  could 
answer  your  purpose. 
I  am  fifteen  years  old  and  go  to  Central  Institute. 
Hoping  to  receive  a  favorable  answer,  I  am. 
Very  respectfully, 

(Sgd.)  Miss  M C . 


The  revelations  resulting  from  this  advertising 
have  been  corroborated  through  our  contact  with 
girls  in  the  routine  work  of  our  Bureau  during  the 
past  six  years.  Over  7,000  wage  earning  girls  have 
used  our  Placement  Bureau,  and  3>000  have  lived 
at  our  Lake  Breeze  Camp.  Our  occupational 
records  of  applicants  for  employment  show  repeated 
instances  of  girls  who  have  spent  money  and  time 
at  business  schools  and  are  presumably  ready  for 
office  work,  but  who  for  some  reason  do  not  get 
a  position  of  the  sort  for  which  they  have  been 
trained.  In  their  desperation  to  be  wage  earning 
they  alternate  from  unskilled  factory  work  to  cir- 
cularizing, or  some  form  of  near-office  work;  and 
perhaps  after  two  or  three  years  of  this  they  give  up 


Introduction  xiii 

the  dream  of  ever  getting  and  keeping  a  real  office 
position  and  apply  themselves  to  mechanical  work, 
in  which  their  special  training  is  of  no  use. 

Out  of  our  reflection  upon  this  state  of  things 
comes  this  inevitable  question:  ARE  GIRLS  RE- 
FUSED IN  OFFICE  WORK  BECAUSE  THERE 
IS  AN  OVER-SUPPLY  OF  WORKERS  IN  THE 
FIELD;  OR,  BECAUSE  THESE  GIRLS  ARE 
INHERENTLY  UNSUITABLE  OR  IMPROP- 
ERLY TRAINED?  In  this  study  we  have  set 
ourselves  to  find  out  the  answer,  and  we  have  come 
to  it  along  these  two  lines  of  inquiry: 

First:  What  kind  of  training  is  needed,  and 
is  it  adequately  given  in  Cleveland? 

Second:  What  are  the  demands  and  what 
are  the  inducements  for  girls  in  the  field  of 
office  work? 

The  Co-operative  Employment  Bureau  as  a 
whole  has  taken  the  responsibihty  for  the  supervision 
of  this  investigation  and  its  own  activities  have 
afforded  its  chief  opportunity.  The  work  itself 
represents  the  exclusive  time  of  one  field  worker 
for  more  than  a  year;  also  the  intermittent,  but 


xiv  Introduction 

organized,  assistance  of  25  volunteer  helpers,  in- 
cluding teachers,  business  women,  social  workers 
and  unemployed  college  women. 

The  method  employed  was  that  of  observation 
and  interview,  and  all  impressions  and  items  of  in- 
formation were  systematically  recorded.  For  ex- 
amples of  schedule  forms  used,  see  Appendix.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  nothing  in  this  book  is  put  for- 
ward as  a  fact  which  has  not  in  our  files  the  name 
and  address  of  the  person  who  is  sponsor  for  it  or  to 
whom  it  relates.  Investigation  has  been  made  in 
a  spirit  of  impartial  inquiry,  and  the  endeavor  has 
been  to  show  the  spirit  of  the  interviews  by  direct 
quotation  so  far  as  possible.  On  several  subjects 
we  have  given  a  summary  of  the  comments  of  bus- 
iness school  students  and  their  employers  in  office 
work.  No  comment  has  been  set  down  which  does 
not  represent  the  expressed  opinion  of  several  per- 
sons. As  the  comments  show,  conflicting  opinions 
were  sometimes  given;  in  sftch  cases  they  have  been 
impartially  set  down  as  they  were  received. 

We  have  made  our  study  of  the  field  of  office 
work  from  the  standpoint  of  the  employer,  only  in 


Introduction  xv 

so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  preparation  girls  need; 
but  the  study  as  a  whole  has  been  made  from  the 
stand/point  of  the  girl  employee,  and  it  endeavors 
to  awaken  the  pubUc,  particularly  the  public  schools, 
to  the  opportunities  as  well  as  the  requirements  of 
this  line  of  work.  A  contrasting  purpose  is  found 
in  the  book  of  Mr.  J.  William  Schulze  entitled 
*^The  American  Office '^  and  published  in  July, 
1914.  His  book  is  a  presentation  of  a  plan  for  an 
ideal  office  from  the  standpoint  of  the  employer,  and 
it  is  the  first  recognition  in  book  form,  so  far  as  we 
know,  of  the  office  as  presenting  the  same  need  for 
standardization  that  has  long  been  appHed  to  the 
shop. 

The  basis  of  our  information  on  work  and  train- 
ing is  as  follows: 

One  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-one 
occupational  records  of  as  many  office  girls. 
Of  this  number  816  have  been  personally  inter- 
viewed in  our  placement  office  or  in  their 
homes. 

Seven  hundred  and  twenty-eight  records  of 
eighth  grade  public  school  students  soUcited 
by  agents  of  private  business  schools. 


xvi  Introduction 

Four  hundred  and  forty-one  places  of  office 
employraent  in  Cleveland  (with  a  few  possible 
duplications)  for  which  we  have  recorded  in- 
formation. One  hundred  and  thirty-three  of 
these,  representing  33  kinds  of  business,  have 
been  personally  visited  and  detailed  records 
have  been  obtained. 

Four  hundred  and  fifty-two  interviews  with 
business  men,  educators  and  social  workers, 
on  the  general  subject  of  commercial  work  and 
training.  Three  hundred  and  sixty-one  of  the 
persons  represented  in  this  number  are  em- 
ployers of  girls  in  office  work. 

Fifty-two  detailed  records  of  as  many  bus- 
iness schools  or  courses.  This  niunber  is  the 
total  for  Cleveland. 

In  addition  to  this  local  data  valuable  suggestions 
were  obtained  from  persons  in  other  cities,  chiefly 
by  correspondence.    A  list  of  these  is  given  below. 

Bertha  M.  Stevens. 


E.  E.  Gaylord Director  of  Commercial 

Education,  High  School  Beverly,  Mass. 

Meyer  Bloomfield Vocation  Bureau Boston,  Mass. 

EthelJohnson Librarian,  W.'s  Educa- 
tional &  Industrial 
Union Boston,  Maas. 

Thomas  McCracken  . .  .Research  Secre'y  Wom- 
en's Municipal  League . .  Boston,  Mass. 


Introduction  xvii 

M.  Edith  Campbell.  .  .  .Director,  Schmidlapp 
Bureau  for  Women  & 
Girls Cincinnati,  O. 

William  Bachrach Head,  Commercial  De- 
partment, Parker  High 
School Chicago,  111. 

Anne  S.  Davis Chicago  School  of  Civics 

&  Philanthropy Chicago,  111. 

Donald  M.  Wright Librarian  System  Maga^ 

zine Chicago,  111. 

Mary  L.  Goodhue Central  High  School Duluth,  Minn. 

Benjamin  A.  Andrews.  .Teachers'  College,  Co- 
lumbia University New  York  City. 

F.  G.  Bonser Asst.  Professor  Indus- 
trial Education,  Teach- 
ers' College New  York  City. 

Edward  N.  Clopper ....  National    Child    Labor 

Committee New  York  City. 

Frances  Cummings  ....  Director,  Intercollegiate 

Bureau  of  Occupations . .  New  York  City. 

Mrs.  Alice  Barrows  Fer-  Director    of    Vocational 

nandez Education  Survey New  York  City. 

Benjamin  E.  Gruenberg  Secretary        Vocational 

Guidance  Ass'n New  York  City. 

Edwin  A.  Hardy President,     New     York 

Fire  Insurance  Exchange  New  York  City. 

James  E.  Lough Sec'y  School  of  Peda- 
gogy, New  York  Univer- 
sity  New  York  City. 

Mrs.  P.  J.  O'Connell .  .  .  Superintendent,  AlUance 

Employment  Bureau .  .  .  New  York  City. 

N.  Milner Manager  Dictaphone  Co.  New  York  City. 

Mary  Van  Kleeck Secre'y,    Committee   on 

Women's  Work,  Russell 

Sage  Foundation New  York  City. 

E.  W.  Weaver Chairman,  Students'  Aid 

Committee,    New   York 

Teachers'  Association  .  .  New  York  City. 


xviii  Introduction 

G.  M.  Yorke Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Company New  York  City. 

E.  C.  Wolf Manager  Employment  & 

Instructive  Dept.,  Cur- 
tis Publishing  Co Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Julia  C.  Lathrop Chief  of  Children's  Bu- 
reau, U.  S.  Dept.  of 
Labor Washington,  D.  C, 


PART  I 


COMMERCIAL  WORK  AND 
TRAINING  FOR  GIRLS 

CHAPTER  I 

PUBLIC   COMMERCIAL  SCHOOLS 

Public  education  has  come  to  include,  in  most 
cities,  some  form  of  commercial  education.  In  pre- 
senting here  the  details  of  our  local  system  we  at- 
tempt— in  addition  to  mere  information-giving — to 
note  the  significant  phases  of  the  ideals  of  Cleve- 
land's school  and  to  point  conclusions  that  will  be 
more  than  local  in  their  appUcation.  In  our  chap- 
ter "Vocational  Guidance"  we  have  discussed  plans 
of  organization  for  commercial  schools  and  courses 
and  have  compared  Cleveland's  system  with  that 
of  other  cities. 

The  public  schools  of  Cleveland  are  taking  care  of 
approximately  only  10  percent  of  the  whole  number 
of  boys  and  girls  entering  day  commercial  schools  and 


4         Commerddl  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

courses  in  Cleveland  in  a  given  year.  The  remaining 
90  percent  are  patronizing  private,  parochial,  or 
philanthropic  schools. 

There  are  in  Cleveland  two  commercial  high 
schools  enrolhng  (1913-1914)  a  total  of  790  day 
pupils.  These  schools,  located  one  on  the  West, 
and  one  on  the  East  side  of  the  city,  are  in  reaUty 
a  unit,  since  the  East  High  School  of  Commerce, 
established  more  recently,  offers  the  work  of  the 
first  two  years  only  and  sends  pupils  to  the  West 
High  School  of  Commerce  to  complete  their  course. 
The  principal  of  the  West  High  School  of  Com- 
merce supervises  both  schools.  In  the  following 
paragraphs  the  two  schools  will  be  spoken  of  as 
if  they  were  one,  and  by  the  general  title,  ''The 
High  School  of  Commerce. ''  In  addition  to  the 
training  offered  at  the  High  School  of  Commerce, 
an  elective  two-year  bookkeeping  course  is  given 
at  two  academic  high  schools.  The  number  of 
pupils  enrolled  in  these  courses  (1913-1914)  was 
123.  For  the  purpose  of  this  study,  all  four  of  the 
high  schools  have  been  visited — the  High  School  of 
Commerce  ten  times.     In  each,   recitations  have 


Public  Commercial  Schools  5 

been  heard  in  bookkeeping,  stenography,  and 
English. 

The  students  who  attend  pubhc  commercial 
schools  and  courses  appear  to  belong  to  a  group 
fairly  comfortable  financially,  who  can  afford  an 
education  but  who  must  earn  wages  as  soon  as  they 
are  prepared  to  do  so.  The  majority  are  whole- 
some-looking, intelhgent,  and  alert,  although  some 
seem  inherently  impossible  for  office  work,  unat- 
tractive in  looks,  and  slow  in  mentality.  But  one's 
general  impression  is  that  a  busy,  deHghtful  at- 
mosphere of  good  fellowship  and  wide-awake  ac- 
tivity pervades  the  school. 

Most  of  the  teachers  are  college  graduates  and 
have  had  practical  experience  in  business.  Their 
attitude  seems  broad  and  progressive  toward  edu- 
cational questions  generally. 

The  purpose  of  the  High  School  of  Commerce  as 
stated  in  the  catalogue  is:  '^To  give  practical 
preparation  for  life  and  for  commercial  work,  and 
to  fulfil  the  demand  of  the  business  world  for 
workers  specifically  and  adequately  trained. ''  Its 
purpose  is  cultural  only  to  the  extent  of  developing 


6         Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

reasoning  and  quickened  perception.  The  individ- 
uality of  the  student  is  developed  by  allowing  free- 
dom in  choosing  electives;  by  encouraging  class 
discussion;  and  by  the  literary,  athletic,  and  social 
activities  of  the  school.  The  establishment  of  the 
bookkeeping  course  in  the  two  academic  high  schools 
seems  to  be  a  concession  to  the  demands  of  their 
neighborhoods  for  definite  vocational  training  for 
wage  earning. 

In  the  High  School  of  Commerce  there  is  careful 
correlation  of  courses;  shorthand  combines  obviously 
with  the  Salesmanship  Lecture  Course;  shorthand  and 
typewriting  find  place  in  the  correspondence  work 
and  in  making  records  of  investigations  which  the 
Local  Industries  Course  includes.  Arithmetic  dove- 
tails with  bookkeeping;  English  with  stenography. 

The  discussion  of  the  curriculum  which  follows  is 
the  result  of  class-room  observation  and  of  conver- 
sations with  the  principal  and  teachers  of  the  school. 

Bookkeeping  is  required.  Students  take  one-half 
year  of  penmanship  before  beginning  work  on 
business  forms,  the  more  complex  work  on  this 
subject  beginning  in  the  sophomore  year. 


Public  Commercial  Schools  7 

Stenography,  an  elective  subject,  is  not  begun  until 
students  have  acquired  a  background  of  two  years' 
training  in  reading  and  penmanship,  English,  and 
spelling.  In  shorthand  the  dictation  is  taken  from 
current  papers  and  magazines,  and  is  based  upon 
a  great  variety  of  business.  Touch-typewriting  is 
taught. 

Science  is  taught  both  for  general  education  £tnd 
for  direct  appHcation  in  business.  In  chemistry, 
analysis  of  the  quality  of  foods,  soaps,  cement, 
cloth,  etc.,  is  made;  in  physics,  such  practical  prob- 
lems as  heating  and  lighting  a  house  are  worked  upon*. 

The  World's  History  is  studied  through  its  com- 
mercial development,  political  history  being  treated 
only  as  a  background  for  the  progress  of  trade. 

Geography  gives  the  student  a  grasp  of  the  world's 
commercial  products  and  the  physical  and  industrial 
conditions  that  affect  the  problems  of  transportation. 

English  includes  the  drill  necessary  for  the  special 
needs  of  the  commercial  student,  endeavoring  to 
avoid  becoming  narrow  and  utilitarian;  also,  to 
stimulate  love  of  good  Uterature  and  to  develop 
a  good  vocabulary. 


8         Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Local  Industries  and  Institutions  is  a  course  given 
only  to  seniors.  Every  year  the  class  is  taken  to 
visit  some  big  industry,  every  process  and  depart- 
ment being  carefully  examined.  Committees  from 
the  class  are  sent  to  various  institutions,  such  as 
Warrensville  Farm,  the  social  settlements,  etc.,  for 
interviews  with  the  directors,  the  class  receiving 
the  benefit  of  the  committee's  impressions  in  re- 
ports read  by  them.  In  addition,  the  instructor 
gives  the  class  some  idea  of  the  economic  prin- 
ciples underlying  business. 

Business  Ethics,  though  not  offered  as  a  separate 
course  is  taught  by  every  instructor  in  connection 
with  his  special  subject,  and  receives  emphasis  ia 
the  talks  of  the  weekly  lecture  course. 

The  Lecture  Course,  which  consists  of  talks  be- 
fore the  whole  school,  is  given  by  business  and 
professional  men  on  the  subject  of  their  personal 
experience  in  the  world  of  affairs.  This  course 
illustrates  the  close  connection  between  the  High 
School  of  Commerce  and  the  business  of  the  city. 

The  curriculum  and  equipment  try  to  keep  pace 
with  the  rapid  changes  in  the  organization  of  the 


Public  Commercial  Schools  9 

modem  business  world  through  the  assistance  given 
the  school  by  a  committee  of  thirty  prominent 
business  men.  They  were  first  called  together  to 
advise  in  the  original  organization  of  the  school 
and  have  assisted  it  ever  since  by  visiting  classes 
and  by  helping  with  criticisms  and  suggestions. 

In  June,  1913,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Prin- 
cipal of  the  High  School  of  Commerce,  the  Co- 
operative Employment  Bureau  undertook  to  visit 
at  their  homes  all  pupils  graduated  from  the  date 
of  the  first  graduation  (June,  1910)  to  the  date 
of  the  beginning  of  the  investigation  (February, 
1913).  This  piece  of  work  covers  the  investigation 
of  206  pupils,  the  product  of  nine  classes.  The 
figures  which  follow  are  the  result. 

Table  I 

OCCUPATION  AT  DATE  OP  INVESTIGATION 

Occupation                         Boys  Girls  Boys  and  Girls 

Working 68  117                   185 

Attending  School 2  4                      6 

Staying  at  Home 0  3                      3 

Not  Ascertained 4  8                     12 


10       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 
Table  II 

ALL  POSITIONS  HELD  FROM  TIME  OF  LEAVING  SCHOOL  TO  DATE  OP 
INVESTIGATION 


Kind  of  Work 


Boys    Girls  Boys  &  Girls 


Office  Work 


Semi-office 
Work 


Business  Occu- 
pations (Other 
than  office  work) 


Stenography 39  54          93 

Bookkeeping 24  53          77 

Clerical  Work 40  24         64 

General  Office  Work.     7  32         39 

Typing 3  33          36 

BilUng 20  0          20 

Totals 140  306       446 

Errands 7  9 

Stock  Room  Work  . .     3  0 

Totals 10  9 

Agent's  Work 2  1 

Managing  Store  ....     2  0 

Clerk's  Work  in  Hotel    1  0 

Totals 5 


Miscellaneous    Factory  Work 1 

Occupations      Teaching 0 

Newspaper  Work  ...  0 

Playground  Work ...  0 

Dairying 0 

Piano  Playing 1 

Singing 0 

Dancing 0 

Totals 2 


16 
3 

19 

3 
2 

1 

6 

2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 

10 


Public  Commercial  Schools                   11 
Table  III 

KINDS   OF   BUSINESS   REPRESENTED   BY  OFFICE   WORK  POSITIONS 

Business                             Boys  Girls        Boys  and  Girls 

Board  of  Education 1  115  116 

Manufacturing 41  67  108 

Retail 11  44  55 

Sales  Office 13  30  43 

Wholesale 11  10  21 

Banking  and  Brokerage ...  13  7  20 

Law 1  18  19 

Transportation 13  2  16 

Telephone 0  11  11 

Real  Estate 1  8  9 

Printing  and  Publishing ...  2  6  8 

Agency 0  8  8 

Advertising  and  Addressing  0  5  5 

Accounting 2  2  4 

Insurance 0  3  3 

Public  Library 0  1  1 

Table  IV 

SHOWING  HOW  POSITIONS  WERE  FOUND 

Positions                            For  Boys 
Placing  Agency           for  Boys  For  Girls        and  Girls 
High    School    of    Com- 
merce            23  79  102 

Friends 34  67  101 

Advertisements 16  31  47 

Personal  Application.  .  .          21  13  34 

Typewriter  Offices 7  24  31 

Civil  Service 0  11  11 

Emplojnnent  Agencies . .           3  6  9 

Machine  Companies.  ...           0  1  1 


12       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 
Table  V 

WAGES 
GRADUATES  WHO  HAVE   WORKED   LESS  THAN  A  TEAR 

(18  boys,  27  girls) 

Boys  Girls 

Minimum                             $22  $25 

Wage  of  Majority             $40-$50  $35-$45 

Maximum                            $65  $55 

GRADUATES  WHO   HAVE   WORKED    1   TO  2  TEARS 

(12  boys,  26  girls) 

Boys  Girls 

Minimum                             $25  $25 

Wage  of  Majority             $45-$50  $35-$40 

Maximum                            $70  160 

GRADUATES  WHO  HAVE   WORKED  2  TO  3  TEARS 


(19  boys,  39  girls) 

Boys 

GirU 

Minimum 

$40 

$22 

Wage  of  Majority 

$55-$65 

$45-$55 

Maximum 

$70 

$100 

GRADUATES 

WHO  HAVE   WORKED  3 

YEARS 

(12  boys,  19  girls) 

Boys 

GirU 

Minimum 

$52 

$40 

Wage  of  Majority 

$50-$65 

$50-$55 

Maximum 

$85 

165 

HIGHESl 

:  WAGE  OF  ANT  GRADUATE 

Boy 

Girl 

$85 

$100 

Public  Commercial  Schools 


13 


Table  VI 


ADVANCEMENT 


(For  Students  Who  Have  Remained  in  One  Position  Since  Grad- 
uation from  High  School  of  Commerce) 

GRADUATES  WHO  HAVE  WORKED   LESS   THAN  A  YEAR 


Boys  (6) 


Girls  (10) 


No.  of  Mos. 

Gain  in 

No.  of  Mos. 

Gain  in 

at  Work 

Monthly  Wages 

at  Work 

Monthly  Wages 

10  months 

$20.00 

11  months 

$  2.50 

9  months 

20.00 

10  months 

12.00 

9  months 

10.00 

10  months 

5.00 

9  months 

10.00 

10  months 

No  advance 

9  months 

5.00 

9  months 

10.00 

8  months 

8.00 

9  months 
9  months 
8  months 
8  months 
8  months 

6.00 
4.00 
5.00 
5.00 
4.00 

GRADUATES  WHO  HAVE  WORKED   BETWEEN 

1   AND   2  YEARS 

Boys  (9) 

Girls  (13) 

Years 

Months           Gain 

Years          Months           Gain 

8               $20.00 

10 

$18.00 

8                 12.00 

10 

4.00 

6                 35.00 

9 

4.00 

6                 10.00 

8 

15.00 

6                  5.00 

8 

12.00 

4                 25.00 

4 

No  advance 

3                 10.00 

3 

17.00 

3                 10.00 

3 

8.00 

2                 12.00 

3 

8.00 

3 
3 
2 
2 

No  advance 

No  advance 

15.00 

5.00 

14       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 


Table  VI — Continued 


GRADUATES  WHO  HAVE  WORKED   BETWEEN  2  AND   3   YEARS 


Boys  (12) 

GiVZs  (5) 

ears 

ikfoni^s 

Gain      ] 

Years 

Months           Gain 

2 

10  Not  ascertained 

2 

10              $15.00 

2 

8 

$50.00 

2 

7                14.00 

2 

7 

20.00 

2 

20.00 

2 

6 

25.00 

2 

10.00 

2 

6 

25.00 

2 

Not  ascertained 

2 

4 

10.00 

2 

30.00 

2 

24.00 

2 

20.00 

2 

12.00 

2 

10.00 

2 

Not  ascertained 

GRADUATES 

WHO   HAVE 

1  WORKED 

1   3   YEARS 

Boys  (3) 

GirZs  (1) 

ears 

MoTif/is 

Gain      ] 

Years 

Months           Gain 

3 

$30.00 

3 

$35.00 

3 

25.00 

3 

Not  ascertained 

Public  Commercial  Schools  15 

Table  VII 


PERMANENCY 

(From  graduation  to  date  of  investigation) 

Percentage  of 

Percentage  of 

AU  Boys 

All  GirU 

Remaining  in 

Remaining  in 

Period 

1  Position 

1  Position 

Out  of  school  less  than  1  year 

33J^% 

37% 

"   "       "      between  1  &  2  years 

'       75% 

50% 

a    i(         ic                11           2  "    ^       '' 

63% 

13% 

"   "      "      3  years 

25% 

5% 

The  rate  of  wages  paid  to  High  School  of  Com- 
merce graduates  is  the  best  proof  that  can  be  offered 
of  their  efficiency  in  general.  There  are,  according 
to  our  records,  only  two  private  schools  in  the  city 
whose  graduates  show  such  uniformly  high  wages 
and  regular  advancement.  These  are,  naturally, 
the  two  schools  which  make  high  school  preparation 
an  entrance  requirement.  Graduates  of  the  schools 
allowing  grade  school  preparation  are  shown  in 
the  illustrations  of  Chapter  VI.,  Part  I.,  to  attain 
a  much  lower  wage  standard.  Our  study  of  repre- 
sentative wages  for  typical  positions,  pages  105-114, 
indicates  that  wages  paid  to  High  School  of  Com- 


16       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

merce  graduates  go  even  above  the  average;  for 
unlimited  experience  may  be  the  basis  of  wages 
noted  in  these  typical  positions,  while  the  experience 
of  the  High  School  of  Commerce  graduates  is,  at 
the  present  date,  of  necessity  limited  to  three 
years. 

In  addition  to  facts  expressed  in  figures,  much 
general  information  and  general  comment  upon 
the  success  of  High  School  of  Commerce  grad- 
uates were  secured  by  talking  with  both  the  grad- 
uates and  their  employers.  A  summary  of  the 
comments  of  64  employers  and  all  the  girls  grad- 
uated in  the  classes  of  1912  and  1913  is  here  given: 

Students^  Comments: 

The  graduates,  almost  without  exception,  are 
enthusiastic  about  the  school — too  much  so  for 
close  analysis  of  their  training  or  for  valuable 
comment  on  the  curriculum;  but  beneath  this 
undiscriminating  testimony  lies  genuine  apprecia- 
tion of  the  value  of  the  general  and  specialized 
training  they  have  received,  and  they  spread  among 
younger  girls  their  conviction  that  four  years  at 


Public  Commercial  Schools  17 

this  vocational  school  is  excellent  preparation  for 
oflfice  work.  (The  very  fact  that  our  records  of 
interviews  with  High  School  of  Commerce  stu- 
dents include  no  self-criticism,  or  any  reference 
to  a  period  of  adjustment,  may  be  a  criticism  of 
the  school  on  the  ground  of  turning  out  its  pupils 
with  something  of  over-confidence;  for  some  of 
the  most  cocksure  of  these  young  workers  were 
commented  upon  with  a  good  deal  of  reserve  by 
the  employers  who  admitted  they  were  prom- 
ising but  emphasized  how  much  they  had  had  to 
teach  them  at  first.) 

Employers^  Comments: 

Employers,  in  commendation,  have  mentioned 
accuracy,  adaptability,  capacity  to  make  up  letters, 
and  good  general  preparation  in  English.  One 
employer  said:  ''What  I  like  about  the  training 
those  girls  have  is,  that  they  can  think  for  them- 
selves, and  will  not  put  down  foolish  things  in 
their  transcripts  just  because  they  seem  to  have 
them  in  their  notes."  Slowness  in  taking  dicta- 
tion was  sometimes  complained  of,  but  a  decided 


18       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

minority  of  employers  had  unfavorable  comment  of 
any  sort. 

It  has  been  set  forth  that  the  ideals  are  high; 
the  plans  and  their  execution  seem,  for  the  most 
part,  complete  both  in  their  application  to  the 
scheme  as  a  whole  and  to  specific  subjects.  Yet  the 
results  of  our  investigation  do  not  show  that,  on 
the  basis  of  its  product,  this  can  be  judged  a  perfect 
school.  Personal  observation,  backed  by  interviews 
with  employers  and  graduates,  show  that  the  prac- 
tical faults  of  the  school  are  probably  negative 
ones. 

First — Absence  of  records  which  systemat- 
ically define  the  sum  of  a  graduate's  personal 
or  professional  qualifications.  An  employer's 
telephone  inquiry  at  the  school  office  concerning 
a  graduate's  ability  secures,  under  the  present 
system,  the  student's  class-room  grade  in  any 
or  all  of  his  subjects.  But  only  by  talking 
individually  with  the  student's  teachers  or 
with  the  principal,  can  the  employer  get  an 
idea  of  the  student's  adaptability  for  the 
particular  work  and  his  general  qualifica- 
tions. 

Second. — Too  Uttle  care  in  introducing  suit- 


Public  Commercial  Schools  19 

able  students  into  the  school.  (See  chapter  on 
Vocational  Guidance.)  A  well  planned  curric- 
ulum and  the  best  of  instructors  in  special 
subjects  cannot  cope  with  poor  preparation 
or  inherent  unfitness. 

Third. — A  standard  in  dictation  speed  and 
correction  of  mistakes  less  rigorous  than  that 
which  the  pupil  must  encounter  in  actual 
business.  This  applies  specifically  to  average 
pupils.  The  fact  that  High  School  of  Com- 
merce graduates  have  received  gold  medals 
from  the  Remington  Typewriter  Company 
for  proficiency  in  stenographic  work  is  a  proof 
that,  with  the  more  promising  pupils,  the 
school  is  able  to  produce  superior  results. 

Fourth. — Inadequate  provision  for  experience 
in  actual  business  conditions.  It  is  possible 
that  the  school  room  cannot  by  any  device  be 
made  to  duphcate  an  office;  but  a  plan  of  co- 
operation with  business  men  might  be  tried 
here,  as  in  the  Boston  Commercial  High  School, 
where  undergraduates  go  into  offices  by  a  part- 
time  arrangement,  usually  in  the  smnmer  vaca- 
tion. Students  might  thus  gain  an  experience 
which  they  can  apply  to  their  school-room 
training;  and  they  would  not  require  the  same 
amount  of  adjustment  when  the  real  first  posi- 
tion is  entered  upon. 

Fifth. — A  standard  for  graduation  that  is  not 
sufficiently  exacting.     By  a  system  of  imder- 


20       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

graduate  experience  in  business,  as  outlined 
above,  the  trial  employer  would  be  able  to 
return  to  the  school  a  record  of  a  student's 
failings  and  good  points.  The  school  on  the 
basis  of  such  records  could  supply  requisite 
training,  could  grade  graduates  with  a  degree 
of  correctness,  and  could  frankly  tell  a  pro- 
spective employer  just  what  they  have  to  offer. 
Follow-up  of  graduates  in  their  experience 
after  leaving  school  may  no  doubt  be  illu- 
minating to  a  principal  with  regard  to  the  gen- 
eral trend  of  instruction  needed;  but  follow- 
up  of  undergraduates  while  still  within  the 
school  gives  unequalled  opportunity  for  giving 
individual  aid  and  for,  when  a  case  demands 
it,  maintaining  the  standard  of  the  school  by  re- 
fusing graduation.  Certainly  a  definitely  voca- 
tional school  has  far  greater  reason  than  any 
other  school  for  preventing  the  continuance  of 
incapable  pupils,  for  prolonging  the  course  for 
insufficiently  trained  pupils,  and  for  ultimately 
refusing  graduation  if  the  standard  of  achieve- 
ment is  not  reached. 


CHAPTER  II 

PRIVATE   COMMERCIAL  SCHOOLS 

Two  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  boys 
and  gMs  are,  this  year,  enrolled  in  the  private 
business  schools  and  '^colleges"  in  Cleveland, 
722  of  these  students  attending  night  classes. 
There  are  eleven  such  schools  altogether,  nine 
on  the  East  side  of  the  city  and  two  on  the  West. 
For  this  report,  all  schools  have  been  visited  and 
recitations  have  been  heard  in  eight.  (See  Table  I 
on  page  22.) 

The  eleven  schools  fall  naturally  into  three 
groups,  according  to  the  general  standards  of 
entrance  requirements  and  the  calibre  and  age  of 
students  (see  Table  II):  The  Grade  School  Group, 
which  secures  most  of  its  students  by  solicitation 
from  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  of  public  schools. 
This  group  obviously  is  the  lowest  of  the  three  in 
entrance  requirements.  Its  students — ^mere  chil- 
dren, many  of  them — are  of  poor  or  foreign  families 

21 


22       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 


Table  I 

PRIVATE  SCHOOLS 

No.  of  Gradu- 

No. of  Records 

No.  of 

No.  of 

ates  whose 

Showing  Occupa- 

Graduates 

Visits 

Employers 

tional  History 

Interviewed 

Schools 

to 

have  been 

of  Graduates 

about  their 

School 

Interviewed 

Training 

No.  1... 

.      5 

67 

56 

17 

No.  2... 

.      2 

0 

79 

25 

No.  3... 

.      2 

0 

1 

0 

No.  4... 

1 

0 

5 

1 

No.  5... 

.      2 

0 

57 

3 

No.  6... 

.      2 

0 

30 

2 

No.  7... 

.      1 

0 

38 

0 

No.  8... 

.      1 

0 

14 

0 

No.  9... 

1 

0 

0 

0 

No.  10. . 

.      6 

54 

133 

54 

No.  11.. 

.      3 

0 

125 

1 

Totals 

26 

121 

538 

103 

largely  and  have  little  or  no  background  of  educa- 
tion. The  High  School  Group,  which,  as  its  name 
implies,  represents  a  high  school  standard  of 
preparation,  attracts  young  people  of  maturity 
and  intelligence,  who  as  a  rule  come  from  families 
who  are  ambitious,  living  comfortably,  and  have 


Private  Commercial  Schools  23 

fair  standards  of  education.  The  Mixed  Group 
includes  the  smaller  schools  and  covers  students 
who  vary  widely  in  age  and  experience  and  appar- 
ently are  alike  only  in  the  mediocrity  of  their  qual- 
ifications. Class-room  unity  or  even  homogeneity 
is  lacking  here  more  than  in  any  other  group, 
perhaps  because  the  others  are  large  enough  to 
recruit  their  students  by  an  organized  plan  of 
solicitation  in  somewhat  definitely  defined  fields. 
Students  of  the  Mixed  Group  seem  to  be  chiefly 
of  two  kinds — ^joyless  pluggers  and  irresponsible 
shirkers.  Very  few  appeared  to  apply  themselves 
with  normal  industry  and  spontaneous  interest. 

In  this  discussion  the  private  schools  are  referred 
to  as  belonging  to  one  of  these  groups — The  Grade 
School,  the  High  School,  or  the  Mixed.  The  num- 
bers one  to  eleven,  designating  each  of  the  schools, 
are  used  consistently  throughout. 

Table  II  gives  a  general  picture  of  the  teaching 
conditions  and  the  equipment. of  each  of  the  eleven 
schools.  Schools  1  to  4  inclusive,  belong  to  the 
Grade  School  Group;  5  to  8  inclusive,  to  the  Mixed 


24       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 


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Private  Commercial  Schools 


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26       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Group;  and  9  to  11  inclusive,  to  the  High  School 
Group.  A  little  study  of  the  infornaation  here  set 
forth  shows  that  those  schools  which  have  the 
lowest  standards  for  entrance  requirements  (the 
Grade  School  Group)  have  also  a  monopoly  of 
nearly  all  other  undesirable  conditions.  It  will 
be  noted  that  schools  1  to  4  have  crowding,  bad 
air,  and  bad  light  while,  in  contrast,  schools  9  to  11 
(of  the  High  School  Group)  are  generally  de- 
scribed as  having  ample  space,  ventilation  and  • 
good  light.  ' 

The  equipment  of  the  Grade  and  High  School  1 
Groups  appears  to  be  about  even  in  the  number 
and  variety  of  machines,  but  filing  systems  are 
found  only  in  the  High  School  Group.  The  Mixed 
Group  has  obviously  the  least  equipment,  but  this 
is  partly  because  some  of  its  schools  offer  special- 
ized work  in  one  subject  only. 

The  usual  age  limits  for  Grade  School  Group 
schools  are  15  to  18  years;  for  High  School  Group 
schools,  they  are  17  to  23  years. 

Important  coroment  can  be  made  on  the  com- 


Private  Commercial  Schools  27 

parative  size  of  the  groups  and  the  number  of 
pupils  per  teacher.  The  Grade  School  Group 
numbers  654  and  employs  18  teachers;  the  High 
School  Group  numbers  516,  employing  27  teachers. 
This  proportion  is  shown  by  groups  as  follows: 

DAY  SCHOOL 

Grade  School  Group  High  School  Group 

3  teachers  for  150  students  8  teachers  for  154  students. 

as  compared  with 
7  teachers  for  300  students  18  teachers  for  375  students. 

as  compared  with 

NIGHT  SCHOOL 

3  teachers  for  100  students  21  teachers  for  187  students, 

as  compared  with 

The  personnel  of  the  teachers  reflects  in  general 
the  standards  of  the  groups  as  already  set  forth. 
This  is  evident  in  the  '^ snapshots''  which  follow. 
The  teaching  force  of  the  High  School  Group  seems, 
on  the  whole,  capable  and  well-equipped  and  in- 
cludes, among  its  numbers,  several  men  and  women 
as  fine  in  culture  and  outlook,  as  any  of  the  staff 
of  the  High  School  of  Commerce;  but  the  Grade 
School  Group,  with  few  exceptions,  provides  teach- 


28       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

ers  of  no  culture,  limited  education,  and  unattract- 
ive personality,  who  are  far  from  setting  up,  in 
themselves,  any  sort  of  desirable  standard  of  social 
or  business  ideals. 

Snapshots   of  Superintendents  and   Teaching 
Force  in  the  Private  Commercial  Schools 

School  No.  1. 

She  calls  her  pupils  ^*  Dearie,"  and  said  over 
the  telephone,  ^'No,  we  don't  offer  no  courses 
like  that."  She  admitted  tranquilly  that 
she  places  a  number  of  pupils  of  14  and  15 
years  of  age.*  She  said  the  school  no  longer 
teaches  History  because  the  pupils  do  not 
like  it. 

School  No.  2. 

Approachable  and  kind  in  manner  but  crude 
and  of  slight  education  was  this  superintendent. 
She  believes  in  the  efficiency  of  the  school,  but 
admitted  that  the  pupils  are  too  young.  The 
bookkeeping  teacher  was  confused  in  the  ex- 
planation of  his  system. 

School  No.  3. 

Very   reluctant   to   talk.     He  showed   how 

*  The  child-labor  law  of  Ohio  forbids  the  employment  of  girls 
under  16  years  of  age,  and  of  boys  under  15,  in  any  occupation. 


Private  Commercial  Schools  29 

the  seating  capacity  of  the  school  might  be 
doubled,  utterly  disregarding  the  extreme 
cramping  of  the  children  that  would  result 
in  so  doing.  A  vulgar  type  of  man  with  a 
suspicious  expression  and  a  glassy  eye,  very 
far  removed  from  the  desirable  type  of  educa- 
tor. 

School  No.  4. 

Proud  of  school.  Expressed  great  regret  that 
the  entrance  requirements  were  so  low,  but  said 
he  was  powerless  to  help  until  the  commercial 
teachers  were  united  on  this  question.  A 
shrewd  business  man  rather  than  an  educa- 
tor, but  he  feels  some  responsibility  toward  his 
pupils,  and  often  goes  with  them  to  their  first 
places. 

School  No.  5. 

A  school  man  of  the  old  fashioned  type; 
classical  and  out  of  touch  with  modern  busi- 
ness. Stenography  teacher  very  keen  and 
alert.  Thinks  the  standards  of  both  school 
and  employers  are  far  too  low. 

School  No.  6. 

A  soubrette  in  appearance.  Very  anxious 
to  talk  about  her  school  and  herself.  She 
spoke  of  her  students  as  '^My  children," 
and  of  certain  industrious  night  students  as 


30       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

''Dear  boys/^  We  asked  her  if  she  found 
positions  for  her  graduates;  she  remarked 
artlessly,  ''Oh,  yes,  they  come  back,  and  back, 
and  back,  and  still  we  keep  on  trying  to  help 
them." 

School  No.  7. 

Smooth  talker.  Indifferent  to  the  question 
of  raising  the  standard  of  commercial  educa- 
tion. She  thinks  her  school  a  perfect  thing 
in  a  small  way. 

School  No.  8. 

Two  teacher  proprietors.  ''We  love  our 
school,"  they  cried.  "It  is  our  life."  They 
do  not  teach  bookkeeping  because  they  feel 
it  is  a  great  waste  of  a  girFs  time.  Very  vol- 
uble vulgarity  characterizes  these  people. 

School  No.  9. 

He  considers  it  excellent  business  to  keep 
the  standard  of  his  school  high,  and  young 
children  out  of  it  altogether.  He  talked  in  a 
rambling  fashion,  but  gave  clear  explanations 
of  the  machine  work  he  emphasizes  in  the 
school. 

School  No.  10. 

Heads  and  teachers  of  this  school  are  su- 
perior,— attractive    in    appearance    and    man- 


Private  Commercial  Schools  31 

ner.  They  are  broadminded,  keen  and  kindly, 
with  excellent  standards  of  education  and 
character  and  a  great  sense  of  responsibility 
for  the  student  and  toward  the  employers. 
Very  young  applicants  are  continually  being 
refused  admission  to  this  school. 

School  No.  11. 

Head  of  school  is  a  man  of  keen  intelligence 
and  breadth  of  view  of  business  in  general. 
Very  much  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his 
students.  Refused  to  introduce  the  Dictating 
Machine  because  it  is,  in  his  opinion,  bad  for 
the  nerves  of  the  operator,  and  because,  in 
the  way  employers  now  use  the  machine,  it 
makes  for  mechanical  work.  Teachers  are 
proud  of  the  school  and  of  its  equipment, 
and  are  eager  to  give  information.  Earnest 
in  conducting  recitations  and  keenly  in  touch 
with  the  modern  business  world  and  its  de- 
mands. 

Snapshots   of   the    Pupils   Attending   Private 
Commercial  Schools 

School  No.  1. 

Very  young,  most  of  them  15  years;  ill- 
mannered  and  noisy  in  the  halls.  Poorly 
dressed;  general  appearance  of  personal  un- 
tidiness and  carelessness.     Seem  to  work  with 


32       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

great  concentration.  Atmosphere  of  cheap- 
ness as  to  personality  and  standards  per- 
vades the  schools.  An  almost  imnatural  fury 
characterizes  the  work  done,  that  neverthe- 
less does  not  convince  the  observer  that  the 
students  thoroughly  comprehend  what  they 
are  doing. 

School  No.  2. 

Usual  age,  15.  Fairly  neat.  Some  Httle 
girls  have  their  hair  hanging  down  their  backs, 
and  a  number  of  boys  in  short  trousers  seem 
very  small.  The  children  show  great  applica- 
tion, but  it  appears  unbelievable  that  such 
youngsters  should  imderstand  the  compli- 
cated system  of  bookkeeping  that  is  taught. 
The  teachers  said  it  was  not  so  easy  as  it  looked 
to  make  them  stick  at  work. 


School  No.  3. 

An  immense  room,  without  partitions,  filled 
with  desks  set  close  together.  In  the  seats 
sit  the  pupils,  some  towering,  some  with  shoul- 
ders barely  coming  to  the  top  of  the  desk. 
Very  young.  A  manner  of  gawky  inamaturity 
characterizes  the  class,  who  are  quite  ho- 
mogeneous in  the  plain  cheapness  of  the  clothes 
they  wear,  and  the  blankness  of  their  expres- 
sions. 


Private  Commercial  Schools  33 

School  No.  4. 

Only  fairly  mature.  Seem  earnest  and  able 
to  concentrate  intently.  More  girls  than 
boys.     Look  commonplace  and  colorless. 

School  No.  5. 

Pupils  mostly  girls.  Young,  rather  frowsy 
looking.  The  exception  is  the  well  dressed, 
efficient  looking  girl.  Most  of  this  group  look 
impossible  for  office  work. 

School  No.  6. 

A  heterogeneous  collection  of  workers.  Some 
very  young  looking  girls;  most  of  them  ma- 
ture. A  few  quite  middle-aged.  Many  of  the 
girls  look  as  if  they  had  been  wage-earners 
for  years. 

School  No.  7. 

Small  school.  Day  students  are  all  girls, 
and  seem  quite  mature,  but  ordinary  in  every 
way. 

School  No.  8. 

Nice  looking  type,  but  very  commonplace; 
dressed  with  great  variety  of  taste,  some  in 
jumpers,  some  in  fussy  clothes,  and  a  few 
in  appropriate  office  garb.  Many  of  them  look 
as  young  as  15.     The  girls  talk  together  on 


34       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

the  sly  and  there  is  not  much  sense  of  order. 
Only  one  boy  in  the  day  school. 

School  No.  9. 

Suitably  dressed,  mature  looking,  business- 
like, concentrated. 

School  No.  10. 

Very  mature,  dignified  and  business-like. 
The  boys  look  like  young  men,  and  the  girls 
appear  adequate  to  fill  the  positions  for  which 
they  are  training.  Great  concentration,  whole- 
someness,  interest  and  hard  work,  without 
rush,  are  characteristic  of  this  efficient  looking 
group. 

School  No.  11. 

Mature,  business-like,  full  of  energy.  In 
changing  classes  the  pupils  pass  quickly  from 
one  room  to  another  with  little  talking  in  the 
halls  and  no  loitering.  Girls  are  sensibly 
dressed,  and  the  boys,  for  the  most  part,  looked 
keen  and  mature.  Concentration  very  re- 
markable. 

In  addition  to  the  courses  as  shown  by  Table  III 
following,  most  schools  offer  what  they  call  a  ^'com- 
bined course, '^  usually  a  combination  of  the  Sten- 
ographic and  Bookkeeping  (or  Business)  courses. 
The  charge  for  the  combined  course  is  a  little  less 


Private  Commercial  Schools  35 

than  the  sum  of  the  prices  of  the  separate  courses 
that  make  it  up.  STUDENTS  ARE  URGED  AND 
GENERALLY  PERSUADED  TO  TAKE  THE 
COMBINED  COURSE  ON  THE  GROUND 
THAT  IT  IS  A  COMPLETE  PREPARATION 
FOR  ORDINARY  OFFICE  WORK;  AND  THE 
COST  OF  THE  COMBINED  COURSE  IS 
USUALLY  $100.  Unit  courses  meaning  the  single 
subjects,  such  as  Typewriting,  Penmanship,  Billing, 
Expert  Accounting,  are  given  on  request  and  at  a 
somewhat  higher  rate  than  when  in  a  course  with 
other  subjects.  Unit  courses  are  more  frequently 
given  in  night  than  in  day  classes. 

In  some  schools,  particularly  those  of  the  Grade 
School  Groupj  the  courses  outlined  in  the  catalog 
are  so  padded  that  they  seem  to  offer  a  great  deal 
for  the  money,  although  really  what  is  published  is 
a  conglomerate  of  the  details  of  a  single  subject. 
For  instance,  one  school  offers  ''Bookkeeping, 
Double  and  Single  Entry;  applied  to  all  business 
purposes  such  as.  Wholesale  and  Retail  Commerce; 
Jobbing  Grocery;  General  Merchandise;  Manu- 
facturing;  Partnerships;   Corporation   Stock   Com- 


36       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 


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Private  Commercial  Schools 


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38       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

panies,  including  Check  and  Safeguard  Systems, 
also  Voucher  Systems;  Business  Customs;  Lectures; 
Commercial  Law;  Business  Papers;  Business  Arith- 
metic; Correspondence;  Spelling  and  Defining; 
Penmanship;  Rapid  Calculation;  Practical  Gram- 
mar; Office  Drill  and  Banking/'  A  vivid  contrast 
appears  in  a  catalog  of  a  school  of  the  High  School 
Group  which  offers  the  same  subjects  as  follows: 
'Tenmanship;  Commercial  Arithmetic;  Commercial 
Law;  Business  Correspondence;  Spelling;  Rapid 
Calculation;  Office  Practice  and  Banking." 

Four  schools  possess  a  rather  elaborate  equip- 
ment for  giving  pupils  concrete  practice  in  the 
affairs  of  real  offices.  A  section  of  the  Bookkeeping 
room  (in  one  school  an  entire  room  is  used)  is  par- 
titioned off,  and  built  to  look  like  a  suite  of  modern 
banking  or  business  offices.  Back  of  the  wire  cages 
sit  a  boy  and  girl,  working  over  the  '^Company's" 
books,  the  Company  being  the  school  itself.  Other 
students  come  to  the  window  to  bank,  settle  accounts, 
or  to  buy  stocks  or  merchandise  with  their  paper 
money.  The  transactions  of  the  fictitious  company 
go   on   with   perfectly   balanced   books,    (ideally). 


Private  Commercial  Schools  39 

while  relays  of  students  replace  each  other  in  the 
roles  of  merchant  or  cashier  for  this  illustrative 
lesson  in  actual  business.  Business  correspondence 
is  also  actually  executed,  and  one  school  has  per- 
fected a  system  by  which  its  students  carry  on  busi- 
ness with  students  of  business  schools  in  other 
cities.  It  could  not  be  ascertained  that  more  than 
two  of  the  four  schools  use  this  equipment  seriously. 
The  head  of  one  of  the  best  schools  did  not  have 
this  equipment  in  his  school  because  he  felt  it  was 
not  the  way  to  secure  real  business  training.  He 
felt  it  was  a  waste  of  time  and  a  childish  procedure 
to  ask  mature  students  to  play  such  a  game  of 
pretend  business.  Another  school  proprietor  said, 
'^I  used  to  have  those  cages  and  all  that  parapher- 
nalia by  the  yard,  but  I  saw  it  did  not  do  any  real 
good,  so  I  had  the  students  put  the  time  on  straight 
analytical  work.'' 

The  following  are  gleanings  from  records  of  class- 
room observations: 

Shorthand  and  Typing  Classes 

Students  are  classified  as  belonging  to  first, 
second  and  third  speed,  and  advanced  accord- 


40       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

ingly,  thus  putting  all  the  emphasis  on  speed 
and  none  on  accuracy.    (School  2) 

Dictation  given  to  entire  student  body  at 
once  except  the  mere  beginners.  The  dictator 
varies  speed  from  fast  to  slow,  and  students  get 
what  they  can.  Very  uneven  results  shown  in 
reading  notes.    (School  6) 

When  pupil  reaches  speed  of  80  words  a 
minute,  she  is  thought  ready  for  a  position  re- 
gardless of  the  other  essentials  of  preparation. 
(The  High  School  of  Commerce  requires  100 
words  a  minute  of  its  graduates.)    (School  8) 

In  contrast  to  the  usual  plan  of  teaching  the 
combined  Bookkeeping-Stenography  courses  in 
which  Bookkeeping  precedes  Stenography,  this 
school  offers  Stenography  first,  so  that  the  pu- 
pils in  the  Bookkeeping  class  may  dictate  their 
business  correspondence  as  if  in  a  real  office. 
(School  9) 

Class  speed  practice  very  thorough.  Analysis 
and  discussion  by  class  of  the  best  way  to  write 
various  words  in  Shorthand.    (School  11) 

Excellent  system  of  organization  of  a  number 
of  homogeneous  classes,  so  that  as  fast  as  a 
student  progresses  in  speed  and  text  book 
knowledge  beyond  one  class,  he  may  be  ad- 
vanced to  the  next.    (School  10) 

Bookkeeping 

Short  practical  courses  offered  stenography 


Private  Commercial  Schools  41 

students,  containing  only  essentials  of  book- 
keeping without  any  unnecessary  elaboration. 
(School  6) 

Fifty-five  children  taught  by  one  teacher. 
No  discussion  or  explanations  given  to 
the  class.  This  is  the  '^Individual  System." 
(School  3) 

A  Community  System  worked  out  so  that  the 
school  is  divided  into  three  or  four  groups  which 
call  themselves  by  the  names  of  large  cities  and 
do  business  with  each  other  by  correspondence. 
(School  9) 

The  '^Individual  System^'  is  a  term  business 
schools  use,  apparently,  in  order  to  boast  of  their 
thorough  method  of  teaching  bookkeeping.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  some  work  with  the  class  as  a 
whole  in  this  subject  is  profitable  as  proven  by 
the  method  used  in  the  Pubhc  Schools.  The 
Individual  System,  as  it  works  out,  means  that 
where  there  is  only  one  teacher  for  a  huge  class, 
the  student  who  is  supposed  to  go  ahead  with 
the  study  of  the  text  and  ledger  work  and  to 
bring  up  difficulties  for  the  teacher  to  explain, 
does  not  actually  get  a  chance  at  the  busy 
teacher,  and  his  work  is  delayed  or  remains  in- 
correct for  a  long  time,  because  he  cannot  get 
help  when  he  needs  it.  (Practically  all  schools 
of  the  High  School  Group  have  small  enough 
classes  to  make  actual  individual  instruction 
possible.) 


42       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

English 

In  the  Grade  School  Group^  English  work  is 
required  of  all  children  who  have  not  passed  the 
eighth  grade.  They  are  supposed  to  make  up, 
in  a  few  months,  the  work  of  one  or  two  public 
school  grades,  and  are  advanced  when  they  have 
passed  an  examination.  In  the  Grade  School 
Group,  English  is  taught  only  to  these  deficient 
pupils  and  not  as  a  regular  course.  In  one  school 
English  is  only  given  to  pupils  of  seventh  grade 
standing,  or  offered  upon  request.  The  instruc- 
tor stated  that  much  less  than  ten  percent  of  the 
pupils  in  a  year  ask  for  it.  The  instructor,  in 
another  school,  who  was  dictating  Spelling  to 
the  class,  divided  words  with  reckless  incorrect- 
ness.   (School  2) 

For  a  school  in  the  High  School  Growp,  the 
following  report  is  given  verbatim  from  the 
records:  ^'The  intermediary  and  beginning  Eng- 
lish classes  were  observed.  Letters  were  handed 
to  the  teacher,  which  had  been  composed  by  the 
pupils  on  a  given  subject  and  were  based  on 
models  in  the  text.  The  teacher  read  the  lessons 
which  had  been  previously  typewritten  and 
passed  about  the  class.  Wrong  things  were  put 
before  the  children  in  concrete,  definite  form  for 
them  to  correct,  thus  giving  emphasis  to  the 
image  of  the  wrong.  The  teacher  recited  the 
whole  lesson  himself  giving  all  the  corrections, 
and  the  students  merely  checked  off  their  papers. 


Private  Commercial  Schools  43 

No  positive  information  was  given.  If  there  was 
a  choice  of  two  correct  words,  one  of  them  being 
better  than  the  other,  the  teacher  gave  no 
choice,  naming  the  one  word.  No  reasons  were 
asked  for  on  either  side  and  none  were  worked  out 
by  any  of  the  processes.  It  was  a  mechanical, 
routine  performance.  There  was  no  interest  on 
the  part  of  teachers  or  pupils.  Absolute  bore- 
dom reigned  so  supremely  that  the  pupils,  com- 
pletely under  a  spell  of  dullness,  failed  to  recog- 
nize a  feeble  joke  which  the  teacher  attempted 
half-heartedly.  All  of  his  humor,  however,  came 
out  in  a  great  laugh  with  which  he  said  to  one 
of  his  visitors,  "These  students  take  the  type- 
written lessons,  then  the  text,  and  finally  a  test. 
If  they  do  not  pass  they  have  to  take  it  all 
over  again."  This  protraction  of  the  course  of 
dullness  was  more  than  his  risibilities  could 
stand  without  giving  way.    (School  11) 

On  the  whole  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  the 
students  are  taught  insufficient  English  in  any 
business  school,  and  particularly,  not  enough 
sentence  structure  and  punctuation.  The  High 
School  Group  takes  too  much  for  granted  the 
previous  preparation  of  their  students  in  Eng- 
lish, and  the  other  schools  make  entirely  insuf- 
ficient effort  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  due  to 
ilhteracy  and  f oreignness  in  the  families  of  their 
children.  POOR  ENGLISH  PREPARATION 
IS  PROBABLY  THE  CHIEF  OF  ALL  THE 


44       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

OFFENCES  OF  THE  GRADE  SCHOOL 
GROUP. 

Business  Ethics 

Ideals  of  what  is  fair  play  toward  the  em- 
ployer, and  what  is  to  be  expected  on  the 
worker's  part — standards  of  professional  pride 
and  interest  in  work — are  inculcated  by  the 
schools  of  the  High  School  Group,  which  at 
least  make  an  effort,  unknown  in  the  other 
schools,  to  present  such  standards  in  talks  be- 
fore the  advanced  classes.  In  other  schools  this 
effort  is  lacking. 

Interviews  on  training,  held  with  students  and  em- 
ployers, brought  out  comments  as  follows : 

Grade  School  Group 
Students  of  the  Grade  School  Group  of  schools  com- 
plained, not  only  of  definite  failures  of  the  curriculum, 
but  of  the  unsatisfactory  general  conditions  of  the 
schools:  crowding,  the  lack  of  attention,  indifference, 
constant  changing  of  teachers,  failure  of  the  school 
to  keep  promises,  lack  of  discipline,  waste  of  time, 
general  dissatisfaction.  All  these  comments  have 
been  uttered  by  the  students  belonging  to  this  type 
of  school,  and  usually  in  connection  with  their  re- 


Private  Commercial  Schools  45 

fusal  to  endorse  to  other  girls  what  the  school  has 
done  for  them. 

This  graduate  said  with  great  earnestness: 
"I  wouldn't  recommend  that  school  to  nobody. 
I  didn't  get  a  thing  off  that  school.  When  I 
came  back,  after  the  first  day,  I  said  to  my 
Mama:  ^Is  that  a  school  that  is  like  that?'  In 
the  bookkeeping  class  we  gets  out  our  lunch  and 
eats  it  and  nobody  says  anything  at  all.  They 
do  say  now  that  they  got  a  good  shorthand 
teacher  in  that  school,  but  when  I  was  there, 
she  was  no  good.  Nobody  did  any  studying 
in  that  school.  We  have  Spelling,  but  nobody 
ever  corrects  it,  and  if  the  kids  did  not  answer, 
they  didn't  get  anything  for  it.  That  school 
may  be  some  good  now,  but  it  wasn't  when  I  was 
there.''  (She  was  graduated  in  1913).  The 
school  also  failed  to  send  this  girl  to  places  that 
were  good,  and  she  has  practically  had  no  short- 
hand work,  only  typewriting,  which  proves  a 
waste  of  most  of  her  special  training. 

Felicia  began  by  saying  contentedly,  that  she 
had  no  complaints  to  nlake  of  her  school,  and 
*  she  went  on:  ^^I  think  it's  an  all  right  school. 
So  many  of  the  girls  slam  it,  but  I  don't  think 
I  have  any  kick  coming.  Yes,  I  found  it  was 
very  hard  to  get  adjusted  to  my  first  place. 
Why,  at  school,  of  course,  I  could  take  dictation 


46       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

as  slow  as  I  pleased.  They  gave  it  to  you  slow, 
and  if  I  didn't  get  it,  I  could  always  get  it  off 
somebody  else,  don't  you  know.  But,  Gee!  you 
haven't  anybody  to  get  it  off  of,  in  a  real  office. 
I  felt  real  up  against  it,  at  first, — and  then  mis- 
takes!— At  school,  you  could  make  a  lot,  and 
it  didn't  matter.  I  could  correct  'em  and  get 
right  things  off  others.  But  your  employers 
won't  take  mistakes,  and  I  just  had  to  buckle 
down  and  learn  not  to  make  any.  Yes,  it  was 
hard  at  first.  At  school  we  could  always  take 
another  sheet  of  paper  and  begin  again,  but  I 
found  I  was  using  my  employer's  paper  all  up, 
and  I  had  to  stop  and  be  more  careful.  Now 
I'm  trying  not  even  to  rub  out.  I  surely  want 
to  be  a  good  stenographer,  there  are  enough 
bum  ones  around.  Yes,  when  I  first  went  out 
to  places,  and  got  tired  of  doing  temporary 
work  where  the  school  sent  me,  I  tried  answer- 
ing ads  to  get  a  permanent  place  but  I  was  just 
discouraged.  Everywhere  you  went  there  was 
dozens  of  girls  before  me.  One  place  I  counted 
seventeen.  I  just  thought  the  jobs  were  all 
taken,  that  there  were  too  many  stenographers 
already  and  that  I  had  spent  my  time  and 
money  for  nothing.  But  I've  got  a  good  job 
at  last,  and  I  guess  I  will  stay.  I  am  going  to 
be  a  good  stenographer,  but  I  certainly  was  not 
good  at  first.  My  employer  said  to  me:  'Say, 
you  call  yourself  a  stenographer?'    But  I  said 


Private  Commercial  Schools  47 

to  him:  'Just  you  wait  and  give  me  a  trial/  He 
did  wait,  and  I'm  coming  out  all  right.  He 
certainly  remarked  the  other  day  on  how  I 
had  improved,  and  I  mean  to/'  Fehcia  added 
that  she  was  sorry  she  was  not  making  more 
money,  but  she  was  learning  a  lot  at  last,  and 
she  thought  that  was  advantage  enough  to 
make  her  stay. 

Out  of  the  128  employers  interviewed  for  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  field  of  office  work  for  girls,  41 
definitely  expressed  themselves  on  the  subject  of 
training  schools  in  Cleveland.  Thirty-seven  of  these 
offered  general  commendation  to  the  business  schools 
belonging  to  the  High  School  Group,  as  compared 
to  4  who  commended  the  schools  belonging  to  the 
Grade  School  Group, 

"The  private  commercial  schools  ought  to 
be  more  careful,"  said  one  employer,  ''about 
the  course  they  advise  their  students.  The  girl 
I  have  only  took  stenography  at  the  school. 
When  she  came  to  the  office,  however,  she  proved 
to  be  only  a  fair  stenographer,  but  when  I 
taught  her  my  bookkeeping  system,  she  de- 
veloped a  real  talent  and  liking  for  bookkeep- 
ing."   It  was  quite  accidental  and  through  no 


48       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

effort  of  the  school  that  this  girl  happened  to 
have  this  tendency  discovered. 

The  general  criticisms  offered  by  employers  relate 
to  the  maturity  and  to  the  quaUty  of  the  intelligence 
and  manners  of  the  girls  whom  the  schools  have 
turned  out  supposedly  fitted  for  positions. 

When  speaking  of  the  work  of  his  stenog- 
rapher, this  employer  said  she  had  a  good  gen- 
eral education,  but  was  not  old  enough  or  ma- 
ture enough  to  do  her  work  well.  Although  her 
actual  stenography  was  good  and  accurate,  it 
was  her  lack  of  mentality  and  maturity  that 
made  her  unfit  for  that  particular  company. 
'^We  want  a  girl,^'  commented  the  employer, 
''who  is  old  enough  to  grow  in  her  work  and 
sufficiently  developed  to  really  grasp  what  she 
is  doing.  This  girl  was  not,  and  therefore, 
could  not  be  retained. '^ 

Mr.  R.  said  that  he  was  a  ''kind  hearted 
business  man,''  and  that  was  why  he  kept  em- 
ploying Katherine.  He  admitted  sadly  that  it 
was  quite  possible  that  he  was  mistaken  in  his 
charitable  view,  and  was  doing  the  wrong  thing 
for  Katherine  and  for  the  world  at  large.  "For 
really  and  truly,''  he  mourned,  "she  is  absolutely 
no  good  as  a  stenographer,  and  never  will  be 
any  good.    She  is  too  Irish,  for  one  thing!    Her 


Private  Commercial  Schools  49 

English  is  beyond  anything  I  ever  knew.  Never 
can  send  out  a  letter  without  the  most  careful 
supervision  and  frequently  they  have  to  be 
done  over.  She  continues  to  say:  'We  cent 
to-day/  or  'We  ship  you  yesterday/ — almost  un- 
believable things,  and  no  amount  of  correction 
on  my  part  will  break  her  of  it."  When  asked 
about  this  girFs  typing,  the  employer's  gloom 
only  seemed  to  deepen,  and  he  said  it  was  no 
better  than  her  English.  ''Mussy  and  inac- 
curate. She  is  a  good  girl,  and  nice,"  he  said, 
but  added  that  she  was  not  at  all  prepared  for 
office  work.  He  tranquilly  admitted  that  it 
was  outrageous  for  him  to  put  up  with  her  vile 
work.  When  asked  if  Katherine  had  ever  done 
any  bookkeeping,  he  threw  back  his  head  and 
cned:  ''Mercy,  no!  She  could  never  keep 
books." 

One  employer  swept  his  hand  over  his  head, 
when  asked  about  a  girl,  "Yes,  she  is  still 
with  us,"  he  said  with  a  grin.  "No,  I  do  not 
use  her  for  stenography,  at  least — not  any 
more.  I  have  tried  it,  but  for  over  a  year  I 
haven't  dictated  to  her  at  all.  I  wouldn't  be 
bothered.  I  says  to  my  brother:  'You  try  her! 
You  talk  slower  than  I  do.'  So  he  did.  After 
a  while,  he  came  over  to  me  and  said:  'No  use, 
she  can't  do  my  letters.'  So  after  that  we  just 
put  her  on  the  books.  Perfectly  routine  work 
that  scarcely  takes  any  intelligence  to  do  it. 


50       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Some  one  else  checks  up  all  her  entries.  That 
girl  did  not  stay  in  school  long  enough  to  be 
anything  but  half-baked.  She  didn't  know  any- 
thing when  she  came.  She  didn't  get  my  words 
in  dictation,  and  what  she  did  get  she  couldn't 
set  down  in  proper  form  and  put  in  a  gram- 
matical sentence.  She  cannot  punctuate,  or 
spell  or  paragraph.  Sure!  She  came  straight 
from  the  school.  She  could  run  the  typewriter, 
but  not  very  fast.  All  we  give  her  in  typing  is 
form  letters,  all  alike  but  the  address,  and  she 
copies  them.  It  is  routine  work,  very  much 
like  shop  work,  but  we  couldn't  use  her  for 
anything  important.  We'll  get  rid  of  her  when 
we  can." 

Another  employer  took  a  great  personal  in- 
terest in  his  stenographer  and  has  done  his  best 
to  make  something  of  her.  He  said  she  was 
poor  in  English  and  in  stenography,  and  a  poor 
typist,  when  she  came.  She  never  used  a  bit 
of  her  bookkeeping  training,  for  that  was  too 
complex  to  fit  his  simple  system.  He  tried  to 
give  her  some  standard  of  business-Uke  conduct 
and  appearance,  which  evidently  neither  school 
nor  home  had  been  able  to  provide.  She  used 
to  come  to  work  in  a  soiled  party  gown  with 
her  hair  done  in  elaborate  and  be-ribboned 
coiffures.  Certain  inherent  qualities  made  the 
girl  worth  while  for  him,  but  nothing  in  her 
preparation  made  her  valuable. 


Private  Commercial  Schools  51 

Comments  upon  the  schools'  training  in  specific 
subjects  were  eUcited  wherever  possible.  In  stenog- 
raphy and  typing  especially,  complaints  were  bitter 
on  the  part  of  both  girls  and  employers. 

''No,  I  was  not  a  bit  prepared  for  my  first 
place.  It  was  very  hard  for  me  all  the  time. 
The  dictation  is  so  hard  even  yet.  They  give 
it  so  fast.  I  never  could  take  it  fast.  I  am  not 
good  in  shorthand.  I'm  not  much  faster  now, 
and  that  was  nearly  three  years  ago . ' '  She  added 
that  many  practical  details  such  as  making 
carbon  copies  had  been  unknown  to  her  when 
she  began  her  work.  When  she  was  asked  how 
in  the  world,  if  that  were  true,  she  had  held 
her  places  even  for  a  month,  she  laughed  and 
said:  "I  guess  it's  a  good  bluff  as  much  as  any- 
thing else.  I  could  always  ask  what  the  right 
words  were,  in  the  dictation,  and  what  I  didn't 
know  I  could  make  up.  That's  all  right — even 
good  stenographers  ask." 

One  employer  burst  out:  ''I  have  known 
many  a  poor  stenographer,  but  none  so  poor 
as  Susy.  She  was  absolutely  no  good.  Her  dic- 
tation was  inaccurate.  She  put  in  the  letter 
many  statements  never  made.  Her  typewriting 
was  simply  wretched.  Letters  came  from  her 
machine  all  smeared  with  erasures  and  mis- 
takes." 


52       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Another  statement  from  an  employer — and 
it  is  typical  of  many — was:  ''That  girl  is  poor 
in  stenography  and  in  English.  Her  sentences 
very  often  make  no  sense  at  all.  Inserted  words, 
not  dictated,  spoil  the  meaning  of  careful  dic- 
tation, or  she  omits  important  words.  She  has 
no  idea  of  sentence  structure,  and  is  careless  and 
inattentive." 

Students  of  the  Grade  School  Group  mostly  com- 
plain about  the  bookkeeping  training  that  they  had, 
but  in  a  few  cases,  they  did  say  that  they  thought 
they  had  been  well  taught,  and  several  employers  of 
graduates  of  this  type  of  school  remarked  that  their 
bookkeeping  was  very  good. 

One  girl  was  engaged  as  a  stenographer.  Her 
employer  said  that  he  tried  her  out  on  the  books 
and  found  her  so  good  that  they  were  turned 
over  entirely  to  her. 

Miss  H.  said  that  she  ''simply  hadn't  learned 
a  thing  in  bookkeeping, '^  and  thought  neither 
teacher  nor  method  was  thorough.  She  thought 
the  system  was  confusing,  and  that  students 
were  jumped  from  one  sort  of  business  study  to 
another,  before  they  understood  it  thoroughly. 
The  whole  course  proved  perfectly  worthless 
to  her,  although  she  was  a  high  school  graduate, 
and  spent  five  months  at  the  business  school. 


Private  Commercial  Schools  53 

One  girl  remarked:  '^I  won^t  advise  any  friend 
of  mine  to  go  to  my  school  or  let  any  of  my 
family  go.  They  don't  teach  you  good.  In 
bookkeeping  we  never  got  no  attention  at  all. 
I  don't  believe  that  I  knew  one  thing  more 
about  it  when  I  came  out  of  the  school  than 
when  I  went  in.  And  the  way  they  let  them 
ignorant  kids  take  bookkeeping!  Why,  they 
just  let  any  one  in  the  world  in." 

Employers  of  several  foreign  girls  either  dis- 
charged them  or  kept  them  at  mechanical  work  at 
low  wages,  because  their  English  was  so  incorrect 
or  so  unreliable.  Yet  they  had  been  placed  as  gradu- 
ates of  business  schools.  Employers  offer  a  long  Ust 
of  definite  grievances  against  the  English  training 
of  the  graduates  of  these  schools.  Their  English  is 
seldom  rehable  and  has  to  be  supervised  constantly; 
their  punctuation  is  poor  and  they  are  inaccurate. 

Although  employers  are  usually  more  conscious 
than  the  girl  herself  of  her  failures  in  English,  she 
often  expresses  regret  for  her  lack  in  this  respect. 

One  girl,  for  instance,  a  graduate  of  a  school 
from  the  Grade  School  Groupy  lamented  that  her 
chance  to  advance  was  curtailed  by  her  igno- 
rance of  correct  English.    She  said  disconso- 


54       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

lately:  '^I  could  have  took  high  school,  but  me 
thinking  it  was  quicker  to  go  to  'college/  I 
done  that  way." 

One  girl  lost  her  promotion  from  multigraph- 
ing  to  stenography  because  her  English  was  so 
poor. 

An  illustration  of  the  wrong  kind  of  business  spirit 
that  exists  among  young  office  workers,  and  of  their 
need  of  definite  instruction  in  business  ethics,  may 
be  had  in  an  incident  which  an  employer  relates. 

He  had  advertised  for  a  stenographer  who 
must  be  a  high  school  graduate.  A  girl  applied 
and  answered  in  the  affirmative  when  asked 
about  a  high  school  preparation.  At  the  end 
of  the  interview  the  employer  asked  her  from 
what  high  school  she  came,  whereupon  she 
burst  out  crying,  saying  she  knew  she  could 
not  ''keep  up  the  bluff,"  but  her  instructor  in 
the  business  school  had  told  her  she  would 
never  get  a  position  if  she  did  not  say  she  was 
a  high  school  graduate,  though,  really,  she  had 
never  advanced  beyond  the  eighth  grade. 

Another  employer  said  of  his  stenographer 
that  she  had  evidently  been  taught  no  profes- 
sional pride,  because  she  always  put  her  hat  on 
at  the  tick  of  five  no  matter  what  important 
correspondence    was    lying    about    unfinished. 


Private  Commercial  Schools  55 

She  was  in  a  responsible  position  with  a  big 
opportunity  in  it.  ''But  she  never  saw  it,"  said 
the  employer.  "To  her  it  was  just  a  job  from 
eight  to  five,  until  I  talked  to  her  and  taught 
her  that  something  more  was  required." 

High  School  Group 
When  students  of  the  High  School  Group  of  girls 
have  been  asked  for  criticism  of  the  curriculum,  they 
have  suggested  that  more  emphasis  should  be  placed 
on  billing  and  filing,  and  that  more  time  and  super- 
vision should  be  allowed  the  typewriting  and  speed 
practice.  This  complaint  is  substantiated  by  a 
number  of  employers  of  these  students,  who  chiefly 
mention  slowness  as  a  noticeable  fault;  but  a  few 
complaints  of  poor  English  and  uncertain  notes 
have  been  registered. 

"Miss  E.  is  splendid  now,"  said  one  employer, 
"but  she  certainly  was  worthless  at  first.  A 
well  trained  girl,  with  good  education  and  fine 
quaUties,  she  was  quite  worthless  in  the  be- 
ginning, because  her  stenotypy  was  so  slow." 

In  contrast  is  the  following  comment  from  an 
employer  of  another  graduate  of  a  school  in  this 


56       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

group.    This  comment  is  typical  of  the  majority  of 
employers. 

*'I  remember  the  work  she  did  when  she  first 
came  to  me  very  well,  and  I  thought  her  excep- 
tionally good/'  said  one  employer  about  his 
stenographer.  ''She  was  well  prepared,  quick  j 
and  accurate  from  the  beginning.  Of  course, 
she  needed  to  pick  up  a  good  many  things,  I 
had  to  teach  her,  but  she  had  the  background  of 
equipment  for  it  already.  Her  English  was 
excellent.  She  had  general  education,  being  a 
high  school  graduate.  That  makes  all  the  dif- 
ference in  the  world.  She  came  of  a  business  J 
school  of  very  high  standing  and  showed  the 
result  in  her  work  from  the  moment  she  began. 
Now  she  is  perfectly  reliable  in  anything  we 
entrust  to  her." 

In  all  but  a  very  few  interviews  with  the  graduates 
of  this  group  of  schools,  the  distinct  impression 
gained  was  that  of  intelligent  praise  of  their  training. 
The  high  quality  of  teachers,  the  high  ideals  of  work 
and  entrance  requirements,  the  conscientious  atten-  1 
tion  given  each  individual,  the  fact  that  promises  are 
kept,  the  business-like  atmosphere  of  the  school — 
all  are  keenly  appreciated  by  the  students. 


Private  Commercial  Schools  57 

Miss  C.  uttered  an  often  repeated  comment 
about  her  school  when  she  said:  ^'It  certainly 
is  an  asset  to  be  a  graduate  of  that  school.  I 
reahzed  it  most  when  I  was  looking  for  a  posi- 
tion and  interviewing  employers.  Many  of 
them  would  begin  by  asking  me,  ^Are  you  from 

the School?    That  is  a  very  good  school, 

isn't  it?^  and  this  was  a  very  happy  introduc- 
tion to  the  interview." 

Students  of  the  High  School  Group  comment  fre- 
quently on  the  thoroughness  of  the  training  and  the 
high  standard  in  teaching  stenography.  Many  of 
the  graduates  suggested,  however,  that  a  wider  range 
of  business  should  be  covered  and  a  greater  variety 
of  business  terms  used.  Typewriting  needs  to  be 
more  carefully  supervised.    Bookkeeping  is  good. 

This  criticism  was  sustained  by  an  employer 
of  a  graduate  of  a  school  in  this  group.  He 
said  of  her:  ''Her  Enghsh  was  good,  and  she 
was  very  intelligent  in  general,  but  her  notes 
and  typing  were  unreliable.  She  was  not  sure 
of  getting  all  of  the  dictation,  because  she  did 
not  take  it  fast  enough,  and  was  very  reluctant, 
in  spite  of  my  request  that  she  do  so,  to  come 
and  ask  me  exactly  what  I  had  said.  I  did  not 
like  this  trait,  although  she  was  in  many  ways 
a  valuable  girl." 


58       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Another  employer,  interviewed  about  the 
work  of  one  of  the  graduates  of  a  school  in  the 
High  School  Group j  said:  '^Her  preparation  in 
bookkeeping  was  simply  perfect.  She  is  em- 
ployed in  the  cost  department  and  is  making 
use  of  all  her  bookkeeping  training  in  this  work 
which  she  does  in  a  most  satisfactory  way.  The 
cost  work  is  difficult  figuring,  and  she  is  clear- 
headed and  accurate.  After  I  have  explained 
anything  to  her,  the  girl  never  asks  a  question 
or  tells  whether  she  understands  the  work  or 
not,  but  I  can  always  be  sure  that  the  results 
will  come  in  correct  and  in  approved  form,  just 
as  I  want  it.  I  never  had  a  girl  so  completely 
satisfactory  or  one  so  thoroughly  grounded  in 
the  principles  of  mathematics  and  bookkeeping 
as  this  girl.'' 

Employers  of  the  students  from  the  High  School 
Group  of  business  schools  remarked  with  enthusiasm 
upon  their  accuracy  in  spelling  and  their  excellence 
in  English. 

Said  one  employer:  '^If  only  all  the  girls  who 
go  out  into  offices  were  as  well  trained  as  this 
girl  of  mine,  there  would  be  no  problem.  She 
was  well  prepared  for  business,  both  in  general 
education  and  in  special  training.  Her  English 
is  excellent.    She  could  read  her  notes  accurately 


Private  Commercial  Schools  59 

from  the  beginning.  Her  typing  also  was  clear 
and  her  speed  good,  and  she  knew  how  to  make 
up  a  letter.  She  is  responsive  and  intelligent — 
in  short  a  perfect  treasure." 

Criticisms  and  Suggestions 

When  it  is  reahzed  that  of  the  1981  young  people 
entering  business  courses  each  year,  in  Cleveland, 
72  percent  are  in  the  private  business  schools,  it  is 
apparent  to  what  extent  this  department  of  educa- 
tion has  been  commerciaHzed.  The  first  point  to  be 
noted  is  that  each  private  commercial  school  is 
managed  according  to  the  idea  of  the  proprietors  as 
to  what  pays  best.  There  is  no  official  supervision; 
no  check  on  their  efforts  to  get  hold  of  children;  no 
enforcement  of  any  standard  of  efficiency.  It  is 
time  the  pubUc  knew  the  truth  about  the  situation 
and  took  steps  to  correct  the  bad  features  of  it.  AT 
THE  DOOR  OF  THE  PRIVATE  COMMERCIAL 
SCHOOLS  MUST  BE  LAID  THE  CHIEF  BLAME 
FOR  THE  INEFFICIENCY  OF  YOUNG  OFFICE 
WORKERS,  and  for  the  disheartening  failure  to 
keep,  or  even  get,  the  office  positions  for  which  they 
have  been  expensively  trained.    The  public  is  suf- 


60       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

fering  in  two  directions  from  its  policy  of  laissez- 
faire  toward  private  commercial  schools.  First, 
its  yoimg  people  are  victimized  in  that  they  are 
drawn  into  office  work  regardless  of  whether  the 
field  is,  or  is  not,  overcrowded;  regardless  of  their 
capacity  for  work  of  this  sort;  and  regardless  of  i 
their  background  of  general  education.  The  evil 
results  are  waste  of  the  time,  the  money  and  per- 
haps the  undiscovered  vocational  tendency  of  the 
individual  child;  and  his  relegation,  in  too  many 
cases,  to  mechanical,  routine  office  work,  with 
neither  interest  nor  possibility  for  advancement. 
Second,  business  inevitably  suffers,  since  office  de- 
tails are  more  and  more  being  placed  in  the  hands 
of  young  girls.  If  employees  are  immature  and 
inefficiently  trained,  have  poor  preparation  in  Eng- 
lish, and  little  general  education,  there  is  waste, 
friction  and  confusion  in  the  office. 

It  is  obvious  that  girls  not  well  equipped  for 
office  work  ought  not  to  enter  the  field.  The  first 
step,  in  raising  the  standard  of  this  vocation,  is  to 
prevent  the  undirected  appeal  of  the  private  com- 
mercial schools,  both  to  young  people,  who  are  not 


Private  Commercial  Schools  61 

yet  mature  enough  to  make  a  wise  decision  affect- 
ing their  vocational  future;  and  to  their  parents, 
who  may  be  too  newly  arrived  in  this  country  to 
readily  understand  the  situation,  or  whose  greed 
for  a  salary  speedily  earned  blinds  them  to  the 
child's  right  to  a  thorough  equipment  for  life  and 
work.  (See  Chapter  7,  Part  I.)  The  entrance  age 
limit,  shown  to  be  as  low  as  fifteen  years  in  several 
of  the  schools  and  the  entrance  educational  require- 
ment, which  in  three  schools  is  the  sixth  grade,  ought 
to  be  raised  for  nearly  all  students  of  the  Grade 
School  Group.  Our  belief,  backed  by  employers' 
statements  is  that  THE  AVERAGE  GIRL  UNDER 
EIGHTEEN  YEARS  OF  AGE  IS  UNSUITABLE 
FOR  OFFICE  WORK. 

Teachers  and  heads  of  schools  in  the  Grade  School 
and  Mixed  Groups  should  be  of  a  higher  type, 
with  broader  conception  of  education,  greater 
sense  of  their  duty  toward  the  students  and  to- 
ward the  employer,  and  more  practical  knowledge 
of  the  field  of  business.  Not  a  few  of  the  teachers 
are  illiterate  and  even  coarse — and  their  influence 
must  be  judged  demoralizing  rather  than  helpful. 


62       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

The  curriculum  of  practically  all  private  schools 
should  be  changed  fundamentally  in  several  ways. 

Firsty  there  should  be  longer  and  more  thor- 
ough training  in  EngUsh.  POOR  ENGLISH 
IS  THE  KEY  TO  MOS^  OF  THE  FAIL- 
URES AND  PARTIAL  FAILURES  IN 
OFFICE  WORK. 

Second,  there  should  be  more  thorough- 
ness in  stenographic  training  and  more  drill 
in  speed  and  accuracy.  The  latter  depends 
largely  on  proper  Enghsh  preparation. 

Thirdy  clearer  and  less  elaborate  system  in 
the  teaching  of  bookkeeping  is  needed. 

Fourthy  general  efficiency  training  should  be 
given  every  graduate  especially  in  filing,  du- 
phcating  and  in  answering  the  telephone. 
Instruction  should  be  given  in  business  ethics. 

Placement  is  apt  to  be  at  best  a  clumsy,  if  not 
dangerous,  tool  in  the  hands  of  the  private  schools. 
These  schools  ought  to  feel,  as  most  of  them  do, 
a  responsibihty  for  successfully  placing  the  stu- 
dents they  have  trained.  But  the  schools  whose 
standards  are  generally  low  may  be  expected  to 
consistently  place  students  without  questioning 
the  character  of  the  places  to  which  they  send  them. 


Private  Commercial  Schools  63 

Unfavorable  sanitary  conditions  are  not  frequently- 
met — ^but  the  requirements  of  over-time  and  the 
moral  situation  call  for  caution.  Since  placement 
by  private  schools  can  probably  be  neither  stopped 
nor  restricted,  there  is  perhaps  nothing  practical 
to  urge  in  this  connection  except  to  show  that  the 
situation  as  a  whole  points  one  more  reason  for 
guarding  against  the  patronage  of  low  standard 
schools. 

Summed  up,  briefly,  the  evils  apparent  in  private 
commercial  school  methods,  and  relating  almost 
entirely  to  the  schools  of  the  Grade  School  and 
Mixed  Groups  are: 

Unscrupulousness  in  securing  pupils  too 
young,  too  unprepared,  or  personally  un- 
desirable. 

Unscrupulousness  in  retaining  pupils  in 
school  after  their  unfitness  must  have  been 
discovered. 

Lack  of  thoroughness  in  individual  over- 
sight due  to  (1)  Overcrowding  in  class-rooms 
with  too  many  pupils  to  a  teacher.  (2)  Un- 
evenness  of  students  in  age,  general  preparation, 
and  inherent  ability. 

Low  type  of  teachers. 


64       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

A  curriculum  providing  insufficient  general 
education  and  practical  office  practice.  Lack 
of  business  ideals. 

Absence  of  an  official  standard  of  educa- 
tion and  official  supervision. 


CHAPTER  III 

COMMERCIAL  COURSES   IN   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOLS 

Five  academies  and  fourteen  grade  schools, 
enrolling  (1913-1914)  457  pupils  cover  the  op- 
portunities for  commercial  education  in  the  Paro- 
chial schools.  They  are  about  evenly  distributed 
throughout  the  city,  East  and  West,  and  are  all 
of  them  day  schools  offering  no  opportunities 
for  night  instruction.  For  this  study  all  have  been 
visited;  and,  in  three  academies  and  ten  schools, 
class  work  has  been  observed.  Eighth  grade  prep- 
aration is  required  in  all  schools  and,  with  but  three 
exceptions,  two  years  is  the  length  of  the  course. 
One  school  begins  coromercial  work  in  the  eighth 
grade  and  finishes  the  course  the  next  year.  The 
other  two  have  a  one  year  course.  In  the  grade 
schools  the  children  pay  about  50c  a  month  which 
approximately  pays  for  repairs  for  the  typewriters. 
In  the  academies  the  tuition  is  $20.  or  $30.  a  year 

for  pupils  who  are  not  boarders. 

65 


66       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

The  placement  of  graduates  is  not  systematized. 
Former  graduates  often  help  by  suggesting  places 
they  know  will  be  vacant;  a  nimiber  of  employers 
call  for  workers  directly  from  the  school;  the  priest 
helps  to  look  up  positions  for  the  graduates  or 
simply  turns  them  over  to  the  typewriting  agencies 
for  placing.  Follow-up  of  graduates  is  equally 
without  system.  No  records  are  kept  of  the  chil- 
dren who  pass  from  the  school  to  work;  but,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  most  of  them  live  in  the  parish 
of  the  school  and,  as  they  come  back  to  church 
festivities  or  to  mass,  they  tell  the  sisters  how  they 
are  getting  along  and  what  they  are  doing. 

The  pupils  in  the  academies  come  from  families 
well-to-do  or  moderately  so.  They  have  not  yet 
assumed  a  grown-up  air  and  still  wear  their  hair 
in  braids.  They  are  for  the  most  part  charming 
and  wholesome,  bright  and  full  of  Ufe  and  interest. 
Some,  of  course,  seem  less  attractive  but  very  few  are 
without  response  to  the  sisters.  There  is  a  sweet 
courtesy  in  their  manner  and  though  they  do  not 
seem  to  possess  the  school,  they  enjoy  the  sister's 
possession  of  it  and  are  keen  to  win  her  approval. 


Commercial  Courses  in  Parochial  Schools       67 

The  pupils  in  the  grade  schools  come  from  poorer 
families,  with  some  exceptions  and,  in  a  few  classes, 
seem  even  forlorn,  and  have  an  impossible  appear- 
ance and  personaHty  for  office  work.  For  the  most 
part  they  are  delightfully  responsive  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  sister. 

The  sisters  who  are  the  instructors  in  these  classes 
are  as  a  rule  refined,  inteUigent  and  conscientious, 
very  hard  working  and  ambitious  for  the  success 
of  their  pupils  and  interested  in  each  individual. 
Although  not  always  cultured  in  the  broad  sense 
of  that  word  and  although  somewhat  narrow  in 
their  mental  scope,  they  are  exceedingly  earnest 
and  painstaking.  With  few  exceptions  the  sisters 
have  great  charm  and  sweetness.  Their  dignity 
and  graciousness,  often  coupled  with  humor  and 
energy,  create  a  delightful  atmosphere  in  the  school- 
room through  which  a  great  deal  of  beauty  carries. 
They  are  all  convent  trained  and  have  no  direct 
contact  with  occupations  outside  of  the  school  or 
with  the  world  of  business. 

The  purpose  of  the  academies  is  to  supply  prac- 
tical   training    for    probable    wage-earners.      That 


68       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

of  the  grade  schools  is  to  hold  in  school — for  two 
years  beyond  the  eighth  grade — those  who  are, 
from  their  circumstances  of  poverty,  inevitable 
wage-earners.  Even  though  they  may  not  follow 
the  vocation  of  office  work  for  which  they  had  been 
definitely  trained,  the  extended  schooling  sends 
them  out  more  mature  at  the  start  and  has  increased 
their  wage-earning  power. 

The  parochial  schools  have  a  high  standard 
for  the  amount  and  quality  of  their  preparation. 
Teachers  and  pupils  are  serious  in  their  efforts  and 
a  great  deal  of  emphasis  is  put  on  the  form  in  which 
work  is  done.  The  discipline  varies  greatly  in  the 
different  schools.  There  is  almost  a  military  as- 
pect to  some  classes,  others  are  constantly  in  a 
hubbub,  children  being  allowed  to  talk  to  each 
other  in  recitation  and  to  prompt  one  another 
continually.  Sometimes  the  sister  teaches  both 
junior  and  senior  commercial  classes — and  in  one 
or  two  cases  the  eighth  grade  besides — which  re- 
sults in  restlessness  and  inattention  on  the  part 
of  the  children  not  directly  under  the  sister's  eye. 
A  number  of  school  rooms  are  so  quiet  and  full  of 


Commercial  Courses  in  Parochial  Schools       69 

peace  and  concentration  that  the  question  of  dis- 
cipHne  does  not  arise.  The  method  of  teaching 
consists  in  close  adherence  to  the  text.  Lessons 
are  learned  by  heart  from  books  and  recited  with 
word  for  word  correctness.  Very  often  the  class 
reads  or  recites  in  concert.  Discussion  by  the  class 
is  never  encouraged  and  the  ideas  of  the  individual 
pupil  are  not  drawn  out.  Each  school  is  managed 
separately  and  there  is  a  great  divergence  as  to 
texts  and  standards — some  of  the  texts  in  use  being 
quite  old-fashioned. 

The  fundamental  elementary  subjects  contin- 
ued throughout  the  courses  are:  penmanship,  arith- 
metic, speUing  and  grammar.  The  special  subjects 
are  shorthand,  typewriting  (seldom  taught  by  the 
touch  system)  and  bookkeeping.  High  school  sub- 
jects usually  included  in  these  courses  are:  rhetoric, 
algebra,  literature  and  history.  Time  is  allowed 
every  day  for  instruction  in  church  history  and  the 
catechism. 

The  equipment  of  the  commercial  classes  varies 
greatly  in  the  several  schools.  One  school,  located 
on  the  West  side,  is  very  well  built  and  planned. 


70       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

The  building  is  beautiful,  fireproof  and  sanitary, 
and  the  commercial  classes  are  well  provided  for. 
Besides  their  recitation  room,  there  are  two  small 
isolated  rooms  arranged  for  typewriting.  The 
rooms  are  inunaculately  clean;  the  Hght  is  good; 
the  typewriters  are  in  good  condition  and  there  is  a 
little  stand  for  each  machine,  with  a  chair  for  the 
student  to  match.  In  contrast  to  this  picture  is 
that  of  a  school  on  the  East  side.  It  is  dark  and 
dingy,  with  narrow,  dirty  wooden  stairs,  choked 
with  cloaks  which  are  hung  upon  the  walls;  and 
rubbers  are  scattered  all  up  and  down  the  stairs 
for  lack  of  proper  cloak  room.  The  recitation  room 
of  the  commercial  classes  is  not  very  clean  and  the 
hght  is  poor.  The  typewriting  is  done  in  a  big  old 
room  with  wretched  light  and  incomplete  equip- 
ment, the  typewriters  being  set  on  anything  avail- 
able and  having  no  suitable  tables.  Between  these 
two  extremes  are  the  majority  of  the  school  rooms, 
clean  and  light  for  the  most  part.  There  are  sel- 
dom enough  typewriters  for  even  half  the  class, 
and  only  about  half  a  dozen  school  rooms  have 
an   adequate   equipment.     Often    the   typewriters 


I 


Commercial  Courses  in  Parochial  Schools       71 

are  in  the  recitation  room  and  the  pounding  of  the 
machines  makes  an  unpleasant  din  against  which 
the  reciting  students  have  to  Hft  their  voices.  No 
other  equipment,  in  addition  to  the  typewriters, 
is  ever  thought  necessary. 

The  following  are  recorded  impressions  obtained 
through  class-room  visits  in  five  parochial  schools. 

1.  The  sister  who  taught  the  commercial 
classes  was  very  keen  and  intelligent,  highly 
serious,  and  extremely  ambitious  for  her  pupils. 
She  was  broad-minded  and  human  in  her  re- 
lations with  them.  She  took  a  great  deal  of 
interest  in  outside  work,  such  as  helping  them 
typewrite  the  parts  for  their  dramatic  club 
play,  and  stirring  them  up  to  write  essays  for 
the  church  paper.  ^'This  effort,"  she  remarked, 
'4s  very  stimulating,  since  all  the  parish  see 
what  kind  of  work  the  children  do."  She 
has  established  in  her  school  a  fine  spirit,  and 
there  is  an  obvious  sweetness  and  charm  in 
the  manner  of  her  pupils  to  each  other  and  to 
her. 

2.  The  pupils  in  this  school  gave  a  charm- 
ing impression  of  attractiveness  in  personality 
and  manner.  They  sat  in  circular  rows  across 
the  room  which  gave  it  an  informal,  home-hke 
appearance.    Several  of  the  girls  were  the  kind 


72       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

who  would  be  very  difficult  to  place  in  an  office, 
but  most  were  attractive,  bright,  and  efficient 
looking.  As  a  group  they  were  well  dressed, 
responsive,  and  intelligent,  but  in  some  ways 
they  seemed  very  immature.  There  was  a 
typical  '^ Young-ladies^  boarding  school''  at- 
mosphere in  the  class,  although  there  were  a 
few  girls  who,  one  would  have  said,  were  poor. 
The  visitor  was  given  a  ^^show  piece,"  which 
consisted  of  a  long  and  sad  poem.  The  class 
as  a  body  stood  back  of  their  seats,  reciting 
in  concert  with  gestures,  all  this  done  with  great 
enjoyment  and  enthusiasm.  The  typewriters 
were  on  the  third  floor  in  a  large  dusty  room 
over  the  Chapel,  which  pupils  were  allowed 
to  use,  but  which  was  in  no  way  equipped  for 
them.  This  lack  of  business-like  atmosphere 
undoubtedly  has  its  effect  on  the  work  of  the 
students.  The  tables  are  too  high,  the  seats  un- 
comfortable and  the  typewriters  rattle.  Even 
with  this  disadvantage  the  work  is  fairly  good, 
but  still  far  from  being  the  standard  of  type- 
writing that  is  demanded  in  a  business  office. 

3.  This  sister  is  decidedly  firm  with  her 
classes,  though  quiet  in  manner,  and  she 
seemed  keen  to  maintain  a  high  standard  of 
work.  She  teaches  the  eighth  grade  as  well 
as  two  courses  of  commercial  work;  but  the 
eighth  grade  is  small,  and  the  sister  says  that 
the   commercial   classes   are   also   kept   small 


Commercial  Courses  in  Parochial  Schools       73 

because  she  admits  only  those  who  are  most 
promising.  The  sister  concentrates  quite  tensely 
and  evidently  has  taught  her  classes  the  se- 
cret of  doing  it.  She  gets  from  them  a  re- 
markable response,  and  she  is  very  proud  of 
their  work. 

4.  Her  method  is  the  usual  one  employed 
in  parochial  schools,  that  of  question  and 
answer  with  very  little  discussion.  Here  the 
form  in  which  the  recitation  is  prepared  has 
a  military  precision  that  is  not  without  its 
appropriateness  for  business  work.  Strict 
adherence  to  the  text  is  almost  inevitable, 
since  neither  teacher  nor  pupils  have  recourse 
to  actual  experience.  The  texts  seemed  to 
be  chosen  with  care  and  handled  with  intelli- 
gence. Clearness  and  terseness  is  insisted 
upon,  but  incorrect  work  was  not,  on  the 
morning  of  this  visit,  commented  upon  in 
this  class. 

5.  The  recitation  room  was  large  and  sunny, 
with  about  thirty  maidens  sitting  at  little 
birch-wood  desks  in  neat  rows,  and  making 
an  attractive  picture,  with  great  ferns  in  the 
window  for  a  background.  One  girl  was  re- 
citing as  the  visitor  entered,  standing  alertly 
at  the  blackboard.  The  rest  of  the  class  were 
almost  unnaturally  graven  in  the  attitudes  of 
extreme  concentration  and  attention;  prob- 
ably the  fact  that  the  priest,  the  head  of  the 


74       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

school,  was  also  hearing  the  recitation,  had 
something  to  do  with  the  quiet  in  the  class. 
The  students,  all  girls,  were  nice  looking, 
dressed  neatly,  and  with  taste.  There  was  not 
one  girl  in  the  graduating  class  who  looked 
an  impossible  office  worker.  Their  voices  were 
good,  their  manner  most  courteous,  and  the 
way  they  rose  and  stood  like  soldiers  at  at- 
tention, ready  to  recite  even  before  they  were 
called  on,  was  impressive  in  its  tribute  to  the 
discipline  of  the  teacher.  They  did  not  seem 
stereotyped  in  their  attitude  toward  their 
work,  they  were  really  interested  all  the  time, 
and  responsive  to  the  sister.  Their  individual- 
ity, had  however  no  chance  to  appear  in  their 
recitations,  which  were  text  book  stuff,  mostly 
definitions,  and  the  things  were  learned,  un- 
consciously or  not,  by  rote. 

The  shorthand  recitation  was  the  best 
heard  in  any  of  the  parochial  schools,  the 
dictation  being  rapid  with  only  slight  pauses 
at  the  end  of  paragraphs.  The  sister  told 
the  visitor  that  the  letters  were  new  material 
for  the  class  that  morning,  which  made  their 
re-reading  of  their  notes  seem  remarkable, 
both  for  speed  and  accuracy.  There  was  little 
hesitation  on  the  part  of  anybody  and  neither 
prompting  nor  whispering,  nor  recitation  in 
concert,  observed  in  some  classes,  were  to  be 
found  in  this  one. 


Commercial  Courses  in  Parochial  Schools       75 

In  a  recitation  on  ^'Business  Practice'^  the 
text  book  was  interesting  because  of  the  han- 
dling of  material  and  not  because  of  the  recita- 
tion, which  was  utterly  parrot-like.  A  perfectly 
practical  subject,  such  as  this,  that  touched 
the  near  future  of  the  students  so  closely 
was  handled  as  if  it  were  utterly  dry,  unim- 
portant, and  unconnected  with  life,  like  the 
uttering  of  a  creed  never  comprehended,  but 
mumbled  from  habit  every  day,  a  brilliantly 
correct,  swift,  almost  machine-like  perform- 
ance, but  empty.  Evidently  discussion  and 
the  drawing  out  of  the  growing  mind  of  the 
student  are  arts  never  attempted  in  this  class. 

Criticisms  and  Suggestions 

Praise  must  run  hand  in  hand  with  any  crit- 
icism or  suggestion  offered  in  a  discussion  of 
the  parochial  schools.  They  inculcate  the  steady 
virtues  of  attention,  concentration,  seriousness  of 
effort  and  obedience.  Their  pupils  aim  at  exact- 
ness in  figures,  excellence  in  penmanship  and  a 
high  standard  of  form.  But  there  is  not  enough 
training  in  the  analysis  of  material.  The  ability 
of  the  future  wage-earner  to  think  and  decide  for 
herself  is  too  little  created  and  strengthened,  and 
the  work  is  too  stereotyped.    It  is  a  question  and 


76       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

answer  method  with  insufficient  flexibility.  No 
matter  how  vital  is  the  material  dealt  with,  the 
parrot-like  exactness  of  the  answers  to  the  formal 
questions  is  the  same.  The  whole  effect  of  such 
teaching  of  modern  vocational  subjects  in  a  business 
course  is  work  quite  removed  from  practical  ap- 
plication. It  is  detached  from  life,  stenography 
being  hardly  more  practical  than  the  study  of 
Greek.  Reciting  in  concert  is  a  method  much 
used  and  it  is  a  dangerous  one  unless  the  sister  is 
exceedingly  observing,  for  the  shirk  or  the  pupil 
who  does  not  know  can  pretend  to  be  reciting 
while  really  doing  nothing  but  move  her  lips. 

The  equipment  of  the  school  rooms  in  the  com- 
mercial classes  of  the  parochial  schools  is  far  from 
satisfactory,  and  with  two  exceptions  is  decidedly 
imperfect.  Never  should  the  typewriters  be  kept, 
as  they  are  now  in  many  schools,  in  the  recita- 
tion rooms,  for  they  are  too  disturbing  for  the 
class.  There  should  be  enough  tj^ewriters  for  at 
least  half  the  class  and  they  should  be  kept  in 
good  condition,  each  having  its  proper  stand  and 
chair  to  match.     The  light  should  always  be  good 


Commercial  Courses  in  Parochial  Schools       77 

in  the  typewriting  rooms  as  the  eye  strain  is  more 
severe  than  in  ordinary  reading.  Typewriters  in 
nearly  all  schools  are  insufficient  in  nmnber  and 
variety.  There  is,  in  addition,  absolute  lack  of  all 
other  kinds  of  machines  such  as  billers,  dictating 
machines,  and  stenotypes.  There  is  urgent  need 
for  the  parochial  schools  to  equip  their  commercial 
classes  with  a  filing  system,  to  teach  them  the  use 
of  the  telephone,  and  to  give  them  opportunity 
to  learn  to  use  the  more  important  modern  ma- 
chines, used  so  largely  in  a  well  equipped  office. 

Undoubtedly,  it  should  be  stated  that  the  reason 
for  the  lack  of  equipment  in  the  parochial  schools 
at  present  is  claimed  to  be  due  to  lack  of  funds. 
Some  of  the  parishes  are  very  poor.  The  com- 
mercial work  is  still  in  a  more  or  less  experimental 
stage  and  the  more  complete  equipment  of  the 
commercial  classes  will  come  in  time  if  those  in 
charge  firmly  insist  that  sufficient  equipment  is 
important. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  classes,  in  general,  has 
charm  rather  than  the  keen  effort  and  business- 
like  quality   necessary    to   prepare   young   people 


78       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

for  work  in  a  business  office.  The  content  of  les- 
sons assigned  is  often  out  of  touch  with  business 
subjects.  For  example:  In  a  class  in  typewriting 
a  girl  was  diligently  copying  a  love  poem,  all 
about  '4ips  and  finger-tips;"  one  class  in  short- 
hand had  had  assigned  them  a  chapter  in  the 
*' History  of  Sir  Launfal.''  Much  time  is  spent  on 
music  and  on  learning  and  reciting  poetry,  with 
gestures,  which  seems  misplaced  effort  in  a  business 
course,  especially  as  all  too  often  the  graduates 
after  two  years  training  have  an  inadequate  rate 
of  speed  in  shorthand  and  in  typing. 

The  criticisms  of  the  parochial  schools  may  be 
summed  up  by  saying  that: 

(1)— THEY  ARE  POORLY  EQUIPPED  FOR 

MODERN  BUSINESS. 
(2)— THEY    ARE    NOT    STANDARDIZED 
EITHER  IN  THE  USE  OF  TEXTS  OR 
METHODS,  AND 
(3)— THEY  ARE  NOT  REALLY  IN  TOUCH 
WITH  THE  DEMANDS  OF  THE  MOD- 
ERN BUSINESS  WORLD. 
One  sister  was  asked  if  she   thought  the  school 


Commercial  Courses  in  Parochial  Schools       79 

ought  to  introduce  any  of  the  machmes  used 
so  much  in  large  offices  today.  She  rephed  that 
she  knew  nothing  of  them.  '^Our  hfe,"  she  said, 
*^is  simply  a  passing  from  the  convent  to  the  school 
room." 


CHAPTER  IV 

MISCELLANEOUS  COMMERCIAL  SCHOOLS  AND  COURSES 

The  various  opportunities  for  commercial  train- 
ing here  discussed  are  not  important  enough,  on 
the  basis  of  number  of  students  enrolled,  to  warrant 
separate  consideration. 

Semi-Philanthropic  Classes 

There  are  three  semi-philanthropic  organizations 
which  offer  commercial  courses  to  girls,  free,  or 
for  a  nominal  charge.  Their  purpose  is  to  provide 
adequate  business  training  for  poor  girls  who  can- 
not afford  the  time  for  high  school  or  the  tuition 
prices  of  the  private  commercial  schools,  run  for 
profit.  The  teachers  of  these  classes  are  earnest 
and  sympathetic  and  maintain  probably  as  high 
a  standard  as  possible  under  the  conditions.  They 
have  all  had  teaching  experience  and  seem  to  be 
competent  instructors  in  their  special  subject. 
Each    organization    presents,    in    its    commercial 

classes,  pupils  and  conditions  of  a  distinctly  dif- 

80 


Miscellaneous  Commercial  Schools  and  Courses    81 

ferent  type.  In  one  organization,  the  girls  are 
orphan  children  under  16  years  of  age,  and  are 
being  prepared  to  go  out  to  shift  for  themselves. 
This  institution  makes  every  effort  to  place  its 
graduates  well.  They  are  followed  up  carefully, 
and  helped,  if  necessary,  for  years  after  their  gradu- 
ation. In  another  organization  the  girls  are  from 
16  to  20  years  old  and  are  also  obliged  to  earn 
their  own  living,  but  are  able  to  afford  an  inex- 
pensive training.  This  class  is  well  equipped. 
The  charges  are  $8.00  a  month  during  the  day  and 
$4.00  a  month  at  night.  Earnest  effort  is  made  by 
this  school  to  place  its  graduates;  follow-up  records 
are  now  being  kept  of  all  its  students.  The  third 
organization  is  a  club  of  mature  girls,  some  of  whom 
devote  one  night  a  week  to  commercial  study 
under  a  competent  teacher.  The  club  member- 
ship dues  of  25c  a  month  cover  the  expense,  the 
only  equipment  being  one  typewriter,  on  which 
they  all  take  turns  for  practice.  Most  of  these 
girls  are  already  wage-earners,  and  have  taken  up 
ojQfice  work  because  they  see  a  chance  for  advance- 
ment ahead  of  them. 


82       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Private  Tutors 

There  are  in  Cleveland  only  four  private  tutors 
in  commercial  work  who  publicly  advertise  for 
students.  Two  of  them  teach  only  at  night; 
one  teaches  only  during  the  day;  the  other,  both 
day  and  night.  The  prices  charged  by  the  four 
tutors  are  as  follows: 

No.  1. — Bookkeeping — $9.00  for  15  one-hour 
lessons. 

No.  2. — Stenography;  Principles  of  Bookkeep- 
ing— $1.50  per  week — 5  hours  per  week. 

No.  3. — Stenography;  Bookkeeping  or  Eng- 
lish— $  .60  per  hour. 

No.  4. — English  and  Stenography — $5.00  per 
month,  5  hours  per  week. 

One  of  these  tutors  is  college  trained;  all  but  one 
are  practical  workers,  every  day,  in  the  business 
world.  They  will  teach  any  one  who  does  not 
appear  utterly  hopeless,  and  they  have  no  fixed 
educational  requirements.  They  are  interested,  and 
intelHgent,  and  seem  to  be  practical  in  their  ideas. 
Two  of  them  expressed  themselves  as  interested 
in  their  tutoring,  not  only  for  the  money,  but 
because  they  care  about  raising  the  standard  of 


Miscellaneous  Commercial  Schools  and  Courses    83 

business  work  and  assisting  poor  girls  to  get  train- 
ing at  reasonable  rates.  They  do  not  claim  that 
they  make  any  effort  to  place  their  pupils,  or  to 
follow  them  up  after  the  end  of  the  course.  It 
was  not  possible  to  obtain  from  them  any  state- 
ment of  the  number  and  type  of  pupils,  since 
this  varies  greatly  at  different  times  during  the 
year. 

Correspondence  Schools 

There  are  two  schools  in  Cleveland  which  are 
branches  of  national  educational  organizations  and 
that  offer  business  training  by  means  other  than 
class  work.  One,  a  correspondence  school,  provides 
definite  training  in  English,  bookkeeping,  and 
stenography — text  and  typewriter  being  sent  to 
the  pupils  as  part  of  the  course.  The  other 
school  deals  only  with  the  psychology  of  com- 
mercial work,  giving  instruction  by  correspondence 
and  text  book  study,  but  supplementing  this  by 
oral  lectures.  '^The  purpose  is  to  give  a  tested 
system  of  training  for  the  business  world.''  Neither 
school  has  any  fixed  entrance  requirements  for  its 


84       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

students.  The  first  school  allows  credit  only  if  the 
work  done  and  sent  on  to  headquarters  conaes  up 
to  a  certain  standard.  Diplomas  are  granted  on  the 
basis  of  amount  and  quahty  of  work  and  the 
school  has  a  recognized  international  standing.  It 
claims  to  make  conscientious  effort  to  find  positions 
for  its  graduates,  and  keeps  careful  record  of  every 
enrolled  student.  The  other  school  feels  no  per- 
sonal obhgation  for  placement  or  follow-up  of 
students.  It  is  chiefly  a  lecture  course.  When  the 
lectures  have  been  delivered,  and  the  set  of  texts 
completed,  the  student's  connection  with  the 
school  is  severed.  The  representatives  of  both 
schools  in  Cleveland  are  intelligent  and  keen  men, 
the  type  of  good  advertisers  rather  than  educators. 


CHAPTER  V 

NIGHT  COMMERCIAL  SCHOOLS 

In  this  chapter  the  opportunity  for  commercial 
training  at  night  offered  by  both  pubhc  and  private 
commercial  schools  is  discussed.  The  night  courses 
offered  in  semi-philanthropic  and  miscellaneous 
classes  are  covered  in  Chapter  IV,  Part  I. 

Public  Night  Commercial  Classes 

Five  night  high  schools  offer  commercial  courses, 
but  only  three  of  them  include  both  stenography 
and  bookkeeping.  The  other  two  offer  bookkeep- 
ing and  shorthand,  but  no  typewriting.  They 
have  a  total  enrollment  of  about  700  students. 
It  is  not  possible  to  obtain  the  exact  number  of 
students  taking  commercial  work  in  the  night 
schools,  because  it  is  hard  to  classify  students  in 
the  English  courses  as  definitely  commercial  or 
academic.     These  schools  cover  the  East,   West, 

and  South  districts  of  the  city.     Their  purpose  is 

85 


86       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

to  give  practical  instruction  to  business  workers. 
The  term  allotted  night  school  work  is  22  weeks. 
Night  courses  begin  in  the  first  part  of  October  and 
close  the  last  of  March.  Classes  are  held  four 
consecutive  nights  a  week,  for  a  period  of  two 
hours,  but  any  one  class  in  stenography  or  book- 
keeping meets  only  on  alternate  nights.  This 
eight  hours  of  work  a  week  may  be  divided  between 
two  subjects,  or  concentrated  on  one.  The  Night 
High  School  of  Commerce  is  the  only  school  that 
offers  eight  hours  per  week  of  shorthand,  the 
others  offering  only  four.  There  is  no  tuition 
charge,  but  there  is  a  registration  fee  of  $1.00, 
which  is  refunded,  at  the  end  of  the  term,  if  the 
student  has  attended  three-fourths  of  the  time. 
Texts  are  furnished  free  on  application.  In  only 
one  building  are  typewriters  provided  by  the  Board 
of  Education.  In  the  two  others  that  have  them, 
the  principal  or  teachers  provide  them,  charging 
the  expense — ^about  50c  per  capita — to  the  students 
of  stenography.  The  night  students  are  obliged 
to  use  the  desks  of  the  day  students,  and  only  three 
schools  allow  the  night  students  drawers  or  lockers 


Night  Commercial  Schools  87 

for  their  books,  the  rest  of  theu*  paraphernalia — 
ink,  ledgers,  pens,  rulers,  etc. — which  is  bulky,  has 
to  be  carried  to  and  fro  every  night. 

The  commercial  subjects  offered  in  the  night 
schools  are:  Shorthand  (Euclid-Graham  Text);  Book- 
keeping (Sadler-Rowe  System);  English  (Herrick 
&  Damon's  ''New  Composition  and  Rhetoric," 
and  Ashmun's  ''Lake  English  Series  for  Reading,'' 
with  outside  required  reading);  Typewriting,  using 
various  machines. 

Students  enter  the  night  schools  for  one  of  two 
reasons:  To  get  a  start  in  office  work  while  em- 
ployed in  other  work  or  helping  at  home;  or  to  sup- 
plement previous  training  in  order  to  advance 
themselves  in  office  work.  Their  initial  preparation 
in  schooling  varies  greatly;  a  bare  majority  of 
them  have  reached  the  eighth  grade.  The  regis- 
tration includes  a  number  of  foreigners  who  are 
still  very  hesitant  in  their  use  of  English.  In  men- 
tality, an  equal  diversity  is  observed:  some  are 
slow  and  dull  either  by  nature,  or  as  a  result  of 
tiring,  monotonous  work;  others  are  ambitious  and 
keen.    Some  of  the  youngsters  are  apt  to  get  very 


88       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

little  from  class  work  either  because  they  are  too 
weary  or  because  they  are  too  lively  to  be  bottled 
up  for  two  hours  after  the  restraint  of  a  day's 
work.  Practically  all  the  students  are  wage-earners 
while  taking  the  course,  except  the  girls  who  are 
working  at  home.  Some  are  just  beginning  as 
telephone  girls  or  office  boys.  Others  are  already 
somewhat  advanced  in  office  work,  some  of  them 
mature  men  and  women,  having  come  to  secure  an 
equipment  equivalent  to  the  positions  they  have 
reached.  An  instance  of  this  is  the  presence  in 
one  of  the  English  classes  of  a  factory  foreman  who 
has  recently  been  promoted  to  an  executive  posi- 
tion which  requires  him  to  dictate  to  a  stenographer. 
He  found  to  his  confusion  that  his  English  was  in- 
sufficient for  the  task,  and  he  is  trying  to  improve 
it  in  night  school.  Some  of  the  students  look  very 
poor  and  shabby;  many  are  very  foreign.  Other 
groups  dress  neatly  and  with  taste,  giving  evidence 
of  a  background  of  education  and  comfort.  The 
ages  are  from  16  to  30,  but  the  majority  are  from 
17  to  21.  Many  seem  mere  children  who  ought 
to  be  at  home  and  in  bed.    The  work  in  the  night 


Night  Commercial  Schools  89 

schools  proceeds  slowly,  because  of  this  variation 
in  the  equipment  of  the  pupils.  There  are  prac- 
tically no  students  who  have  had  advanced  school 
work,  since  they  are  more  apt  to  go  to  the  private 
schools  where  they  can  make  rapid  progress. 

There  is  something  touching  and  arresting  about 
nearly  every  individual  in  these  night  classes; 
either  because  of  the  courage  with  which  they 
are  struggling  to  improve,  or  because  of  the  ap- 
parent utter  futility  of  that  endeavor  on  the  part 
of  pupils,  so  personally  unattractive  and  inherently 
unsuitable  for  office  work;  or,  on  account  of  their 
physical  frailness  and  weariness.  Many  of  them 
look  unhealthy  and  poorly  nourished.  There  they 
sit,  earnestly  bending  over  their  books — for  the 
most  part  intently  quiet — concentrated  on  their 
great  mental  effort.  Sometimes  the  younger  chil- 
dren fall  asleep  over  their  books.  One  instructor 
said  that  he  has  ^^  never  the  heart  to  waken  them 
if  they  do." 

Many  of  the  instructors  teach  also  in  the  day 
schools  and  have  the  preparation  requisite  for  the 
holding  of  a  regular  teacher's  certificate.     Others 


90       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

are  chosen  for  their  special  knowledge,  training  and 
experience,  but  have  not  the  usual  academic  prep- 
aration. They  give  on  the  whole,  an  impression 
of  seriousness,  dignity,  and  kindliness.  They  are 
ambitious  for  routine  accomplishment,  many  of 
them  markedly  so,  but  are  tolerant  toward  the 
slow  effort  of  their  students.  Few  of  the  teachers 
seem  to  be  of  a  magnetic,  imaginative  personality. 
They  are  as  a  rule,  intelligent  and  interested,  but 
seem  to  be  in  a  rut,  and  not  very  keen  to  the 
unique  quality  of  their  educational  and  social  op- 
portunity— ^perhaps  because  their  best  effort  has 
been  given  to  day  occupations.  A  few  teachers, 
however,  have  felt  the  extraordinary  appeal  of 
the  night  school  as  a  social  service  that  is  a  close 
parallel  to  settlement  work.  These  teachers  have 
the  same  wonderful  opportunity  to  understand 
and  to  assist  individuals  in  need  that  settlement 
workers  have.  The  night  school  students  have 
come  to  buy  their  equipment  of  education  at  great 
cost  of  time  and  energy,  weary  as  they  are,  because 
bitter  experience  has  taught  them  their  need  of 
more  training.    They  are  much  more  serious,  those 


Night  Commercial  Schools  91 

who  stay  through  the  entu'e  course,  at  least,  and 
know  much  better  in  what  points  their  previous 
education  has  failed  to  prepare  them  for  work, 
than  the  untried  students  in  the  day  schools.  The 
teachers  and  superintendents  of  night  schools  should 
come  to  their  work  with  fresh  interest  and  energy 
that  can  respond  to  the  great  demand  made  upon 
them;  but  many  of  the  teachers  seem  to  be  already 
too  weary  to  inject  into  their  classes  the  enthusiasm 
and  electric  energy  they  so  much  need,  and  the 
whole  group,  teachers  and  class,  hang,  like  dead 
weights,  over  their  desks.  The  teachers  are  apt  to 
accept  incuriously  curriculum  and  pupils,  with  no 
constructive  vision  of  what  they  are  doing  or  of  a 
possible  change  anywhere;  while,  to  the  observer, 
it  would  seem  that  no  part  of  the  school  system 
is  so  important  and  so  worth  while  for  the  expend- 
ing of  serious  imaginative  effort  as  the  night  schools. 
The  heads  of  the  night  schools  are  moderately  in- 
terested, but  are  too  academic  in  method  and  am- 
bition, and,  with  the  exception  of  two,  seem  to  fail 
to  reahze  the  difference  between  their  problem  and 
that  of  the  day  school. 


92       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

The  actual  teaching  problem  is  very  different  in 
the  night  classes  from  that  in  day  schools.  The 
students  may  enter  at  any  time  during  the  term 
up  to  the  12th  week,  and  in  English  courses  up  to 
the  18th  week.  Because  they  offer  so  wide  a 
range  of  difference  in  preparation,  ability  and  ex- 
perience, and  because  some  are  tired  while  others 
are  fresh  and  keen  for  work,  class  work  is  neces- 
sarily restricted,  and  instruction  has  to  be  given 
individually,  or  to  groups  in  the  class  as  homo- 
geneous as  possible. 

Suggestions  and  Criticisms 

Courses,  A  more  flexible  curriculum  is  needed 
which  should  be  based  on  the  teacher^s  constant 
contact  with  the  actual  experience  and  needs  of 
the  students,  and  with  the  demands  of  the  business 
world. 

A  bookkeeping  course  ought  to  be  planned  to 
cover  general  principles  and  some  practice — a 
simple  eliminated  course  that  will  be  of  practical 
benefit  to  the  pupils  who  remain  in  the  night  school 
only  one  year — ^as  the  majority  of  pupils  do. 


Night  Commercial  Schools  93 

The  absurdity  of  teaching  shorthand  without 
typewriting  ought  to  be  speedily  aboUshed,  either 
by  the  introduction  of  typewriters  into  the  schools 
which  now  have  not  this  equipment,  or  by  the 
elimination  of  the  shorthand.  In  one  school,  reg- 
istration was  reduced  60%  after  the  typewriters 
had  been  taken  away.  It  ought  to  be  possible  for 
students  who  can  take  only  four  hours  a  week  of 
shorthand  to  practice  extra  hours  on  the  type- 
writer if  they  so  desire  during  the  other  two  evenings 
of  night  school.  At  present,  in  one  school  the  type- 
writers are  in  the  bookkeeping  room  which  makes 
it  impossible  for  anyone  to  use  them  when  that 
class  is  in  session. 

In  English  work,  a  complete  revision  of  the  texts 
for  the  use  of  practical  workers  of  limited  interest 
and  definite  needs  is  absolutely  imperative.  In 
this  subject,  emphasis  is  placed  first  on  increasing 
the  vocabulary  of  the  student  which  is  the  reason 
for  spending  so  much  time  on  reading.  This  is  an 
excellent  and  a  necessary  thing,  but  the  outside 
reading  required  bears  no  relation  either  to  the 
experience  of  the  student  or  to  commercial  work. 


94       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

It  includes,  ''Evangeline,"  ''Hiawatha,"  "Christ- 
mas Carol,"  "Vision  of  Sir  Launfal,"  "Silas  Mar- 
ner,"  "The  Ancient  Mariner,"  and  "Julius  Caesar." 
One  instructor  in  speaking  of  the  texts  in  use  at 
present,  said,  "They  are  perfectly  absurd  for  use 
in  the  night  schools." 

Period  of  Instruction.  An  extension  of  time  for 
the  night  school  term  is  very  much  needed  for  com- 
mercial students.  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why 
it  should  not  be  as  long  as  the  term  of  day  school, 
especially  as  it  must  be  remembered  public  schools 
are  here  in  competition  with  private  business  schools 
which  have  continuous  night  schools  for  eleven  or 
eleven  and  one  half  months.  Here,  if  anywhere  in 
the  school  system,  is  there  need  of  an  opportunity 
for  the  students  to  make  swift  progress  in  their 
work.  Time  is  very  precious  to  these  students, 
driven  by  the  necessity  of  self-support.  They  can- 
not afford  to  have  their  work  drag  on  for  more  than 
one  year.  Their  physical  energy  is  limited,  and 
their  ambition  for  more  education  is  likely  to  be 
crushed  entirely  if  they  must  face  giving  up  their 
precious  evenings  four  times  a  week,  year  after 


Night  Commercial  Schools  95 

year.  There  ought,  therefore,  to  be  a  re-arrange- 
ment of  courses,  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  best 
use  of  the  student's  time  during  the  week.  If  he 
desires  to  concentrate  his  whole  time  on  one  sub- 
ject it  ought  to  be  possible  for  him  to  take  four  or 
more  nights  a  week  of  that  subject,  so  that  he  may- 
progress  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Picture  your  night 
school  student  working  hard  during  the  day,  with 
every  temptation  to  spend  his  evenings  in  pleasure 
or  rest,  yet  determined  to  win  by  whatever  effort 
necessary,  the  education  he  sorely  needs!  Naturally 
he  wants  to  secure  this  equipment  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. THERE  IS  AT  PRESENT  IN  THE  PUB- 
LIC NIGHT  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  NO  PROVISION 
FOR  THE  STUDENT  TO  MAKE  THE  REA- 
SONABLY SWIFT  PROGRESS  HE  SO  MUCH 
DESIRES.  All  the  student  may  do  now,  by  de- 
voting four  nights  a  week  to  stenography  (and 
this  is  only  possible  in  one  school  in  Cleveland), 
is  to  go  over  the  shorthand  lesson  twice  and  to 
practice  on  the  typewriter  a  double  amount  of  time. 
Stenography  should  somehow  provide  for  rapid 
progress   on   the  part   of   the   individual   student. 


96       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

even  as  bookkeeping  now  does.  This  subject  is 
taught  by  individual  instruction  and  the  student 
is  allowed  to  go  through  the  text  as  rapidly  as  he 
can  without  losing  in  thorough  understanding. 

Registration.  A  broader  use  ought  to  be  made  of 
the  opportunity  to  observe  the  student  and  get  es- 
sential information  at  the  time  he  is  registered  for 
night  school.  That  is  the  moment  to  learn  his  de- 
sires and  the  gap  in  his  equipment.  Such  knowledge 
recorded  and  summarized  for  all  students  in  a  single 
year  would  be  of  immense  value  in  an  effort  to  im- 
prove the  curriculum  as  well  as  of  immediate  value 
to  the  individual  student  who  could  be  guided,  on 
the  basis  of  this  careful  record,  to  the  choice  of  a 
course  thoroughly  correlated  with  his  real  need. 
Some  effort  ought  to  be  made  to  dissuade  pupils 
of  unattractive  personality,  roughness  of  manner, 
and  mental  dullness,  or  those  who  speak  broken 
English,  from  taking  stenography  or  bookkeeping, 
in  preparation  for  office  work.  A  great  saving  of 
time  and  effort  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  and  stu- 
dent would  be  gained  thereby.  One  student  who 
positively   could  not   learn  one  symbol  in  short- 


Night  Commercial  Schools  97 

hand  took  the  course,  or  rather  spent  a  year  in  the 
course,  requiring  of  the  teacher  as  much  attention 
as  the  bright  students  who  were  striding  through 
the  text  book. 

The  sum  of  critical  comment  upon  night  schools 
is  to  be  aimed  at  the  public  night  schools.  The 
fact  of  the  existence  and  prosperity  of  the  private 
night  schools  is  evidence  of  the  failure  of  the  public 
night  schools  to  cover  their  field.  The  first  and 
vital  mistake  in  our  public  school  system  is  in 
considering  the  night  schools  as  a  sort  of  after- 
thought in  the  real  business  of  education.  The 
truth  is  that  NO  PART  OF  OUR  SCHOOL  WORK 
DESERVES  MORE  INTELLIGENT,  FIRST- 
HAND, PROGRESSIVE  DEALING  THAN  THE 
NIGHT  COMMERCIAL— OR  OTHER  VOCA- 
TIONAIr— SCHOOLS.  In  no  other  department 
of  the  school  system  do  students  meet  instruction 
more  than  half  way,  as  they  do  here.  These  pupils 
have  a  volition  based  on  experience,  they  are  making 
a  tremendous  sacrifice  of  scant  leisure.  They  are 
applying  themselves  in  the  face  of  weariness,  and 


98       Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

their  whole  purpose  in  coming  is  a  praiseworthy 
attempt  to  *'get  on."  They  deserve  to  have  ad- 
equate equipment  and  comforts.  They  should 
be  able  to  prolong  or  hasten  the  completion  of 
their  work  as  best  they  can,  even  though  this  means 
that  night  classes  are  to  be  offered  every  night  in 
the  week  and  every  week  in  the  year.  Can  the 
school  do  less  than  to  start  reform  along  the  fol- 
lowing lines? 

1.  Frequency  and  duration  of  commercial 
instruction  sufficient  to  insure  the  student 
the  most  rapid  progress  he  is  capable  of  making. 

2.  Appointment  of  fresh,  vigorous  night 
school  teachers  and  supervisors  whose  whole 
time  and  enthusiasm  shall  be  devoted  to  the 
success  of  the  night  schools. 

3.  Satisfactory  provision  of  desk  and  locker 
room  for  night  school  students;  also  adequate 
commercial  training  equipment. 

Private  Night  Commercial  Classes 

Private  commercial  night  classes  are  held  in 
every  private  commercial  school.  Practically  any 
course  offered  in  the  day  classes  may  be  taken  at 
night.     The   curriculum,   numbers   of   pupils   and 


Night  Commercial  Schools  99 

teachers,  etc.  are  listed  in  Tables  II  and  III  in 
Chapter  III,  Part  I  on  the  private  commercial 
schools. 

Little  space  is  given  here  to  the  night  classes  in 
the  private  commercial  schools  because,  with  the 
exception  of  two  large  night  classes  in  two  of  the 
best  private  schools,  the  situation  is,  in  certain 
respects,  much  the  same  as  in  the  public  commercial 
night  schools.  The  same  relative  number  obtains 
between  day  and  night  attendance  in  private  as 
in  pubUc  commercial  classes;  the  pupils  are  from 
about  the  same  social  group  and  present  the  same 
weary  appearance;  just  as  in  the  public  night  schools, 
the  private  schools  use  the  same  teachers  at  night 
who  have  taught  all  day  long. 

But  these  two  great  differences  exist  between 
public  and  private  night  schools.  First:  Private 
night  classes  are  open  four  consecutive  nights  in 
the  week  all  the  year  roimd,  with  only  a  few  weeks 
interim  at  the  end  of  the  summer.  Second:  The 
private  schools  have  special  commercial  equipment 
for  night  pupils  just  as  for  day  pupils. 

In   other  words,  OF   THE   THREE   RECOM- 


100     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

MENDATIONS  WHICH  WE  HAVE  MOST 
STRONGLY  URGED  UPON  THE  PUBLIC 
COMMERCIAL  NIGHT  SCHOOLS,  TWO  ARE 
ALREADY  INCORPORATED  IN  THE  SYS- 
TEM OF  THE  PRIVATE  COMMERCIAL  NIGHT 
SCHOOLS. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  FATE  OF  GRADE  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

It  is  not  a  new  idea  to  the  public  that,  among 
the  city's  candidates  for  office  work,  there  are 
numerous  little  girls — young,  unsuitable  and  un- 
prepared. Almost  any  citizen  has  an  impression 
that  this  is  true,  and  got  that  impression,  perhaps, 
because  some  little  failure  of  an  office  worker  crossed 
his  path.  The  information  we  offer  here  is  based 
upon  statistics  compiled  from  428  detailed  records 
of  office  girls,  which  we  present  pictorially;  and 
upon  interviews  with  these  girls  and  their  employ- 
ers, a  few  of  which  we  quote  verbatim. 

We  have  shown  in  four  charts  the  comparative 

success  of  three  types  of  girls,  all  of  whom  have 

attended  business  schools:  Type  1,  which  we  call 

Grade   School,    includes   those   whose   preparation 

is  eighth  grade  or  less.     Type  2,  which  we  call 

Partial  High  School,  includes  those  who  have  spent 

some  time  in  high  school  but  have  not  completed 

101 


102     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

the  course.  Type  3,  which  we  call  High  School 
Graduate,  includes  those  described  by  the  title. 
We  have  used  drawings  consistently  in  each  chart 
to  represent  each  of  these  types.  The  same  Uttle 
girl  in  short  dresses,  for  instance,  represents  in 
every  chart  the  Grade  School  percentage. 

Chart  1  compares  wages  received  in  the  first 
office  position  held.    (See  pages  105-107). 

Chart  2  deals  with  advancement.  The  difiiculty 
in  preparing  statistics  on  advancement,  during  a 
period  of  two  years,  is  obvious  because  of  the 
definiteness  and  variety  of  details  required  for 
exact  representation.  Only  72  records  were  com- 
plete enough  to  serve  our  purpose.  Attention  is 
called  to  the  fact  that  NO  GRADE  SCHOOL 
CHILD  RECEIVED  THE  MAXIMUM  AD- 
VANCEMENT. If  Chart  1  gives  rise  to  the  con- 
jecture that  it  is  merely  because  younger  girls 
are  younger  that  they  get  a  lower  wage,  and  that 
when  they  have  attained  the  age  of  the  older  ones 
they  will  also  attain  their  wage  irrespective  of  prep- 
aration, the  following  chart  offers  contradictory  evi- 
dence; for,  it  shows  that  the  rate  of  advancement 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children  103 

for  Grade  School  and  High  School  prepared  office 
workers  is  not  the  same.    (See  pages  108-110). 

Chart  3  is  an  attempt  to  compare  the  types  on 
the  basis  of  their  ''unsteadiness^'  in  work.  This 
and  the  preceding  chart,  considered  together,  are 
conducive  to  the  opinion  that  the  changing  of 
positions  is  not  a  necessary  factor  in  advancement; 
for  the  type  which  changed  positions  least  often — 
the  High  School  Graduate — (Chart  3)  is  the  very 
type  which  advanced  most  successfully  (Chart  2). 
(See  page  111). 

Our  investigation  disclosed  a  niunber  of  in- 
stances in  which  business  trained  girls  have  given 
up  office  work  for  other  occupations.  Of  those  who 
did  this,  46%  were  Grade  School  type;  36%  were 
Partial  High  School  type;  and  18%  were  the  High 
School  Graduate  type.  The  three  chief  occupations 
entered  proved  to  be  factory  work,  store  work, 
and  housework.  It  is  not  possible  to  rank  these 
occupations  with  exactness  as  being  higher  or 
lower  than  the  abandoned  office  positions.  But 
our  knowledge  of  the  positions  entered  is  sufficient 
to  justify  us  in  asserting  that  in  the  case  of  factory 


104     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

work  and  housework  the  change  was,  in  nearly 
every  instance,  a  distinct  retrogression,  both  on 
the  basis  of  requisite  intelligence  and  possible 
opportunity.    (See  pages  112-114). 

A  proportion  of  girls  entered  a  variety  of  posi- 
tions which  we  have  grouped  under  the  term 
"Special."  The  three  types  show  the  following 
percentages  entering  special  occupations: 

Type  Percentage         Occupation 

Grade  School 28%        Stage 

Proof-reading 

Partial  High  School 21%        Canvassing 

Practical  Nursing 
Teaching 
High  School  Graduate 51%        Library- 

Organization  Work 
Normal  School 
Hospital  Training 
Marriage 

What  could  be  more  significant  of  the  fate  of 

Grade   School   children   than   these  indications  of 

the  charts? 

1st.  Grade  School  children  constitute  the 
large  majority  of  those  getting  the  least  wage; 
they  are  the  minority  of  those  getting  the 
highest  wage. 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children  105 

CHART  I.— WAGES  IN  OFFICE  WORK. 

1.  Receiving  under  $5. 


Grade  School. 


Partial        High  School 
High  School.     Graduate. 


106     Commercial  Work  and  Training  fw  Girls 

Chart  I. — Contimted. 
2.  Receiving  $5  to  $7  Inclusive. 


Grade  School. 


Partial  High  School 

High  School.        Graduate. 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children  107 


Chart  I. — Continued. 
3.  Receiving  over  $7. 


Grade  School. 


Partial 
High  School. 


High  School 
Graduate. 


108     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 
CHART  II.— ADVANCEMENT  IN  WAGES. 
1.  No  Advancement.    (Period  of  2  Years.) 


Grade  School. 


Partial      High  School 
High  School.  Graduate. 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children  109 


Chart  II. — Continued. 
2.  Advancement  op  $1  to  $3  per  Week.    (Period  of  2  Years.) 


Grade  School. 


Partial 
High  School. 


High  School 
Graduate. 


110     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 
Chart  II. — Continued. 
3.  Advancement  of  $4  or  over.    (Period  of  2  tears.) 


Grade  School.  Partial  High  School.  High  School  Graduate. 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children  111 

CHART  III.— CHANGING  POSITIONS. 

Office  Workers  Holding  3  or  more  Positions  in  a  Period 
OF  2  Years. 


Grade  School. 


Partial       High  School 
High  School.     Graduate. 


112     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 


CHART  IV.— OFFICE  WORK  GIVEN  UP  FOR  OTHER  OCCUPATIONS 
1.  Office  Work  Given  up  fob  Factobt  Wobk 


rHCTQR/ 


Partial 

High 

School. 


High 

School. 

Graduate. 


Grade 
School. 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children         113 


Chart  IV. — Continued. 
Office  Work  Given  up  for  House-work. 


Grade 
School. 


Partial  High  School. 


High  School 
Graduate. 


114     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Chart  IV. — Continued. 
3.  Office  Work  Given  up  for  Store  Work. 


Grade  School. 


Partial  High    High  School 
School.  Graduate. 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children  115 

2d.  Of  those  receiving  no  advancement 
after  two  years  of  experience,  grade  school 
children  are  again  the  large  majority;  they  do 
not  even  appear  in  a  comparison  of  workers 
receiving  an  advancement  of  $4.00  or  more 
for  the  same  length  of  time. 

3d.  Grade  School  children  change  about  in 
ojfice  positions  much  more  frequently  than  the 
other  types. 

4th.  Grade  School  children  include  nearly 
half  of  all  those  who  abandon  office  work  for 
other  occupations;  and  in  factory  work,  one  of 
the  occupations  which  we  have  said  represents 
for  these  workers  the  greatest  retrogression, 
they  reach  by  far  the  highest  percentage. 

The  following  testimony  received  directly  from 
girl  workers  of  grade  school  preparation  shows  con- 
cretely the  hardships  and  disappointments  they  have 
encountered. 

^'When  I  first  went  out  for  a  place,"  said 
Tilly,  'Hhey  didn't  do  anything  but  laugh 
at  me.  I  was  only  fourteen  and  was  so  Uttle 
and  young  I  hadn't  begun  to  grow  yet.  My 
hair  was  done  in  ribbons.  The  men  would 
say  to  me,  'I  guess  you  had  better  go  back 
to  the  public  schools  awhile  before  you  go  to 
work.'     Some  would   promise   me  $5.00  just 


116     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Oirls 

for  a  joke  and  not  meaning  it  at  all.  Gree! 
they  had  me  crying  more  than  once." 

Little  Miss  C.  said  that  she  didn^t  feel 
particularly  well  prepared  in  Enghsh  since 
she  had  only  gone  through  the  eighth  grade 
and  in  her  business  school  she  was  not  obHged 
to  take  it.  She  said  she  had  to  wait  after 
she  graduated  for  three  months  before  she  was 
sixteen.  She  said  the  school  tried  to  find 
positions  for  children  imder  working  age 
but  that  employers  always  wanted  to  see  the 
working  certificate,  and  therefore  one  couldn't 
find  a  job  until  one  was  the  right  age.  Her 
first  job  started  at  $4.00  a  week. 

Another  girl  seemed  to  scarcely  comprehend 
the  questions  put  to  her,  and  seemed  very 
timid  in  trying  to  express  herself.  She  is 
evidently  a  girl  of  limited  ability  and  prob- 
ably could  not  hold  a  position  of  responsibility. 
In  commenting  upon  her  training  she  said 
she  had  felt  unprepared  in  English  and  that 
she  found  she  did  not  have  enough  knowledge 
about  paragraphing,  spelling  and  meaning  of 
words. 

Margaret  spoke  very  seriously  of  her  own 
scant  preparation  in  Enghsh,  Grammar  and 
Composition.  She  said  she  thought  the  Co- 
operative Employment  Biu*eau  could  do  a 
great  service  by  telling  girls  that  without  high 
school  education  a  girl  is  much  handicapped 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children  117 

in  office  work.  She  said  she  was  very  much 
discouraged  in  her  first  position  on  account  of 
small  errors  which  she  was  constantly  making, 
and  that,  although  she  has  continually  been 
trying  to  learn  through  her  mistakes,  she  is 
still  embarrassed  and  thinks  that  in  a  position 
which  demanded  more  in  the  way  of  writing 
up  dictation  than  her  present  one  does,  she 
could  not  be  successful. 

Miss  E.  regrets  keenly  not  having  had  a 
high  school  education.  She  feels  the  lack 
of  it  so  much  that  she  studies  at  night.  She 
said  that  it  hampered  her,  especially  at  the 
beginning  of  her  work.  She  feels  she  is  mak- 
ing good  but  believes  that  she  could  get  on 
much  faster  if  she  had  had  a  better  general 
education. 

This  girl  regrets  not  having  more  education. 
Would  much  prefer  to  have  had  a  high  school 
preparation  since  it  has  been  a  great  draw- 
back not  to  have  it — especially  when  she  first 
began.  Having  so  little  training  in  Enghsh 
is  the  worst  of  all.  This  girl  studies  at  home 
at  night. 

When  I  asked  Alma  if  her  experience  had 
made  her  feel  that  high  school  education  is 
important  for  a  girl  intending  to  go  into 
business  she  said,  "That  would  do  fine,  you 
bet!'*  When  I  asked  her  how  the  lack  of  this 
education  has  worked  out  in  her  own  case, 


118     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

she  said  she  had  regretted  repeatedly  that 
she  had  not  gone  to  high  school.  A  number  of 
good  opportunities  had  been  lost  because  she 
had  had  to  say  '^No/'  when  asked  if  she  were 
a  high  school  girl. 

Helga  felt  that  she  had  been  pulled  away 
from  high  school  by  the  business  school  all 
for  nothing.  When  she  went  to  take  her 
first  place  she  felt  very  ill-prepared  for  it  and 
was  uneasy  about  the  work.  Helga's  mother 
was  even  more  vindictive  than  she.  She  said 
that  if  she  had  a  dozen  daughters  she  would 
send  none  of  them  to  business  school.  Helga 
may  have  to  go  into  a  factory  now,  since  she 
must  have  work.  The  school  does  not  find 
her  any  position  and  if  she  has  to  go  into  factory 
work  all  her  training  will  be  lost.  The  mother 
said,  '^The  streets  are  just  full  of  stenographers 
looking  for  jobs.'' 

Myrtle's  mother  said  she  comes  home  from 
her  present  stenographic  position  nervous 
and  exhausted  every  night.  She  has  taken 
her  to  the  doctor  and  his  recommendation  is 
that  she  give  up  the  attempt  to  do  office  work. 
Apparently,  from  Myrtle's  account,  the  posi- 
tion is  by  no  means  a  hard  one,  but  her 
abihty  to  take  dictation  is  so  poor,  and  her 
mistakes  so  many,  that  she  is  thoroughly 
discouraged. 

Josephine  was  very  much  embittered  about 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children  119 

her  fate.  She  took  this  position  at  typewriting 
just  because  she  was  too  discouraged  to  look 
any  further  for  a  job.  She  hates  her  work — 
it  is  mechanical,  monotonous,  deadening.  She 
is  losing  much  of  the  training  she  received  at 
school.  She  cannot  give  up  the  position  be- 
cause she  must  have  work.  All  the  world 
looks  black  and  dull  to  this  girl.  She  has 
never  had  the  experience  of  being  interested 
in  her  work.  To  her  it  is  a  deadly  grind  that 
takes  the  pleasure  out  of  everything. 

Other  chapters  in  the  book  have  contributed 
facts  or  personal  testimony  which  further  illimiine 
the  actual  experience  of  grade  prepared  children 
in  office  work.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  these 
points: 

1.  The  introduction  shows  that  it  was  con- 
tact with  the  girl  who  was  failing  in  office 
work  that  determined  the  undertaking  of  this 
study  for  the  purpose  of  analyzing  that  failure 
and  constructing  a  remedy.  (See  introduc- 
tion.) 

2.  The  detailed  study  of  the  private  com- 
mercial schools  compels  definite  criticism  of 
the  low  type  schools  which  admit  children  of 
Grade  School  preparation.    (Chapter  3,  Part  I) 

3.  Comments  of  children   sohcited   by  low 


120     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

type  business  schools  and  prevented  from 
going  to  high  school  show  the  children's 
reaUzation,  in  retrospect,  of  the  handicap 
they  constantly  suffer  from  lack  of  a  founda- 
tion of  education.    (Chapter  7,  Part  I) 

4.  A  study  of  the  possibilities  for  advance- 
ment shows  clearly  that  advancement  is  im- 
possible for  the  average  girl  without  high 
school  education.    (Chapter  4,  Part  II) 

5.  An  analysis  of  positions  open  to  grade 
prepared  students  shows  distinct  limitation  of 
opportunity.    (Chapter  5,  Part  II) 

The  advantage  of  high  school  education  is  clearly 
evident.  And  yet,  in  our  random  group  of  428 
workers,  the  number  of  those  equipped  with  this 
advantage  is  small.    The  figures  are  as  follows: 

8th  grade  and  below 213 

Partial  High  School 125 

High  School  Graduate 90 

In  view  of  the  evidence  this  chapter  gives  of 
the  necessity  of  high  school  preparation  for  success 
in  office  work,  is  not  the  fact  that  the  majority  of 
girls  entering  office  work  have  not  this  equipment — 
a  startUng  one?  In  saying  that  these  girls  are  a 
majority,  we  base  the  burden  of  our  proof  not  upon 


The  Fate  of  Grade  School  Children  121 

that  given  by  the  small  group  of  428  records  here 
considered,  but  upon  the  fact  that  GRADE  PRE- 
PARED CHILDREN  PRACTICALLY  MAKE 
UP  THE  ENROLLMENT  OF  THE  FOUR  LARGE 
PRIVATE  BUSINESS  SCHOOLS  WHICH  REP- 
RESENT ONE  THIRD  OF  ALL  THE  DAY 
COMMERCIAL  STUDENTS  OF  THE  CITY. 
(See  Chapter  2,  Part  I.) 

Low  grade  business  schools  cannot  compete  with 
high  grade  schools  in  the  same  field  of  patronage; 
therefore,  they  go  into  the  field  of  non-competition — 
which  is  the  Grade  School  field — ^and  their  unscru- 
pulous course  is  aided  by  the  ignorance  and  foreign- 
ness  of  the  famihes  they  coerce.  The  fate  of  the 
child  who  is  deprived  of  her  right  to  a  thorough 
education  and  equipment  for  life  and  work,  who, 
driven  by  necessity,  or  pushed  by  her  ignorant  or 
greedy  parents,  is  rushed  into  the  cheap  business 
school  and  from  thence  into  wage-earning — the 
fate  of  this  little  pawn  in  the  hands  of  circumstance — 
ought  to  be  on  the  hearts  of  all  the  indifferent 
public  until  the  wrongs  offered  her  are  ended. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SOLICITATION   OF   GRADE   SCHOOL   CHILDREN 

In  the  last  week  of  school,  June,  1913,  the  Co- 
operative Employment  Bureau  visited  fifty  per- 
cent of  all  the  eighth  grade  classes  in  Cleveland 
to  determine  how  much  solicitation,  on  the  part 
of  the  private  commercial  schools,  was  going 
on  among  the  children  about  to  be  graduated 
from  the  eighth  grades  that  year.  With  the  co- 
operation and  approval  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Schools,  the  following  schools  were  visited: 


Barkwill 

East  Denison 

Longwood 

Bolton 

East  Madison 

Marion 

Broadway 

FuUerton 

Mound 

Brownell 

Giddings 

Miles 

Case 

Harvard 

Miles  Park 

Central 

HazeldeU 

Orchard 

Columbia 

Hicks 

Parkwood 

Dennison 

Hodge 

Outhwaite 

Detroit 

Hough 

Rosedale 

Dike 

Huck 

Sibley 

Doan 

Kentucky 

Standard 

Dunham 

Lincoln 
122 

Sterling 

Solicitation  of  Grade  School  Children         123 


St.  Clair 

Wade  Park 

Willard 

Sowinsky 

Waring 

Willson 

Tremont 

Watterson 

Out  of  these  forty-four  schools  visited  it  was 
found  that  in  all  except  two,  Brownell  and  Bolton, 
the  private  commercial  schools  had  made  attempts 
to  secure  children.  One  of  these  two  excepted 
schools  is  in  a  very  poor  section  of  the  city  and  the 
other  in  one  of  the  most  affluent  sections,  which 
indicates  that  only  these  extremes  escape  the  agent^s 
visitations.  The  visitors  were  allowed  by  the 
principals  of  each  school  to  go  into  the  eighth  grade 
classrooms  and  ask  how  many  children  had  been 
sohcited  in  any  way  by  the  business  schools.  In 
room  after  room  almost  every  hand  would  go  up. 
Then  the  visitor  passed  from  one  to  another  of  the 
pupils  who  had  been  approached  and  talked  with 
them  individually.  Such  interviews  were  held 
with  728  children  and  their  statements  regarding 
the  methods  and  frequency  of  soHcitation  and  its 
effect  upon  their  plans  for  the  futm-e  were  recorded. 

Usually  the  child  remembered  the  name  of  the 
soliciting  school.     In  the  following  table  are  re- 


124     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

corded  the  business  schools  that  did  any  sohciting 
whatever.  In  fairness  to  the  schools  of  high  stand- 
ard it  must  be  remembered  that  a  number  of  these 
letters  and  visits  were  the  result  of  requests  for 
information  from  the  school  upon  the  part  of  the 
parents  of  the  students. 

Number  of  Children  Solicited  by  Private  Commercial  Schools 
(Schools  listed  in  order  of  their  activity) 

Name  of  School  Method  not  By  Personal 

Specified  By  Letter       Visit 

Ohio  Business  College 33            218  216 

Cleveland  Business  University. .  23              58  190 

MetropoUtan  Business  College.  .  8             141  173 

Spencerian  Business  College  —  16              30  19 

Edmiston  Business  College 0                8  45 

Dyke  School 14  3 

Whisler 0                2  1 

Central  Institute 0                1  0 

High  School  of  Commerce 0                1  1 

Y.  M.  C.A 0                1  1 

East  High  School  of  Commerce  10  0 

Unspecified  Business  Schools ...  0              67  68 

Total  for  728  children 82  531  717 

The  extent  to  which  sohcitation  is  successful  is 
shown  in  the  following  table,  which  compares  the 
enrollment  of  the  total  number  of  day  students 
(1981)  entering  various  business  schools  in  1913. 


Solicitation  of  Grade  School  Children         125 

Private         Parochial     Philanthropic  &  Public 

Miscellaneous 
1440  263  72  206 

It  will  be  seen  that  THE  PUBLIC  COMMER- 
CIAL HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  CLEVELAND  RE- 
CEIVE APPROXIMATELY  ONLY  10%  OF  THE 
WHOLE  NUMBER  OF  COMMERCIAL  STU- 
DENTS REGISTERING  IN  A  GIVEN  YEAR. 

The  methods  and  arguments  used  in  solicitation 
were  these: 

Offers  of  money,  in  amounts  varying  from 
$.02  a  name  to  $.50  and  $1.00  a  list,  which 
were  made  to  pubhc  school  pupils  for  names 
of  the  children  in  their  school,  class  or  neigh- 
borhood. Many  such  instances  were  found. 
Sometimes  the  school  janitor  was  asked  for 
names. 

Prospective  pupils  taken  in  automobiles 
with  their  parents  to  visit  the  schools. 

Personal  visits  from  agent.  Maximmn,  six 
calls.  Several  children  reported  five  calls. 
Three  was  a  common  statement. 

Letters  sent  to  prospective  pupils. 

Circulars  and  catalogs  sent  to  prospective 
pupils.  One  school  used  a  follow-up  system 
of  picture  postals,  having  sent  one  every  month 
from  January  to  June. 


126     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

The   children's   account   of  arguments   used   to 
persuade  them  is  here  given: 

Private  Business  Schools  Compared  to  High  School* 

A.  Cheaper  than  High  School. 

''High  schools  cost  more  in  the  end." 
"High  school  is  a  waste  of  money." 
''Business  colleges  don't   rob   you   like  the 
high  schools  do." 

B.  More  Time  Saving  than  High  Schools, 

"He  said  that  high  school  was  of  no  use  un- 
less you  want  to  stay  four  years  and  then  go 
to  college." 

"One  year  of  business  school  is  as  good  as 
four  years  of  high  school." 

"He  told  me  to  go  to  business  school  because 
I  could  be  done  in  one  year." 

"He  told  me  you  could  be  through  in  three 
months  and  would  be  earning  quite  a  siun  of 
money,  while  you  would  spend  four  years  in 
high  school  and  maybe  wouldn't  be  able  to 
do  anything  when  I  got  out." 

"He  said  that  I  could  learn  it  quicker  if  I 
went  there." 

*  In  a  few  cases  the  agents  did  not  try  to  dissuade  pupils    ' 
from  their  intention  to  go  to  high  school.    Sometimes  the 
agents  recommended  high  school  first  and  private  business 
school  to  follow. 


Solicitation  of  Grade  School  Children         127 

"He  said  high  school  was  a  good  thing  but 
I'd  be  so  old  when  I  got  out." 

C.  More  Effective  in  Business  Training  than 
High  Schools. 

''Better  for  me  because  four  years  of  high 
school  would  be  no  good  in  business." 

''You  have  to  take  a  little  bit  of  everything 
at  high  school  that  is  of  no  use  except  in 
teaching." 

"He  said  high  school  was  more  of  a  social 
center  and  not  business-Hke." 

"He  said  public  schools  were  no  good  and 
that  I  should  go  to  his  school  and  learn  some- 
thing worth  while." 

"It  would  never  do  me  any  good  if  I  went 
to  an  academic  school  all  my  life." 

"High  school  is  not  much  good  to  a  girl  who 
expects  to  work." 

Intrinsic  Merits  of  Private  Business  Schools  Urged 
by  Solicitors, 

A.  Positions  assured  students. 

Minimum  monthly  salaries  suggested  for  be- 
ginners: $35.00— $45.00— $50.00. 

A  fine  position  promised  after  one  year's 
training.  (This  is  the  most  frequently  used 
argument.) 


128     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

''One  can  get  through  life  better  and  earn 
more  money." 

Stories  told  of  successful  graduates  now  in 
business. 

Pictures  shown  of  workers,  said  to  be  highly 
paid  graduates  of  the  school. 

B.  Fine  equipment  of  the  Private  Business 
Schools  described. 

The  following  stories  from  graduates  of  the 
private  business  schools  show  the  deplorable  effect- 
iveness of  agents^  visits: 

This  girl  told  her  visitor  that  she  would 
always  hold  a  fierce  resentment  against  the 
school  because  its  agent,  by  coming  to  her 
home  to  solicit,  overturned  all  her  plans  to 
go  to  Technical  High  School.  She  had  begged 
her  father  to  let  her  go  and  finally,  though 
reluctant,  he  had  given  his  consent.  At  this 
point,  the  agent  came  and  persuaded  her 
father  that  four  years  at  high  school  would 
be  a  waste  of  time.  ''After  one  year  of  bus- 
iness college,"  said  the  agent,  "she  could  be 
earning  good  money."  The  result  was  that 
the  girl's  dream  was  shattered,  and  she  was 
packed  off  to  business  college.  (It  was  five 
months    after   graduation    that    the   girl    was 


Solicitation  of  Grade  School  Children         129 

telling  this  story  and  the  ''good  money"  was 
$6.00  per  week.) 

A  most  significant  conmient  on  the  place 
of  the  business  school  in  the  life  of  another 
yomig  worker  was  her  saying  that  she  had 
wanted  to  go  to  the  High  School  of  Commerce, 
and  had  decided  to  start,  when  the  agent  of  a 
certain  private  business  school  arrived  upon 
the  scene.  The  day  before  she  was  to  have 
started  at  high  school,  he  succeeded  in  per- 
suading her  mother  and  her  that  the  high 
school  course  was  too  long  and  expensive  for 
her.  She  jdelded  imwillingly  to  his  argument 
and  went  to  business  college,  but  she  consid- 
ered it  a  mistake  and  has  regretted  it  ever 
since. 

In  speaking  of  the  way  it  happened  that 
Myrtle  went  to  a  private  business  school  at 
all,  her  mother  said:  ''We  had  the  card  all 
signed  for  her  to  go  to  high  school,  when  the 
man  came  from  business  college.  He  told  us 
how,  if  she  went  to  high  school,  she  would 
not  be  fitted  for  anything  when  she  got  through 
and  we  were  easy  and  said  that  she  could 
go  to  his  school.  When  I  talked  it  over  with 
her  father  he  did  not  want  it  at  all  at  first  and 
said,  'One  hundred  dollars  is  an  awful  piece 
of  money.'  But  next  day  he  thought  it  over 
and  was  willing  to  have  her  go.''  (This  girl 
failed  in  her  course  and  now  works  in  a  factory.) 


130     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Another  girl  would  have  spent  two  years 
at  a  parochial  school  if,  while  she  was  wavering 
about  a  decision,  a  printed  catalogue  had  not 
arrived  from  a  certain  private  commercial 
school,  followed  soon  by  an  agent  who  con- 
vinced her  that  a  larger  outlay  of  money  would 
fit  her  for  a  position  in  half  the  time  and  would 
prove  a  much  better  investment. 

An  interesting  light  on  solicitation  was 
offered  by  one  girl  in  describing  her  experience 
with  two  agents  of  two  different  schools  who 
fought  a  battle  for  her  enrollment.  She  was 
registered  at  one  school,  when  an  agent  from 
another  school  came  for  an  interview  saying 
his  school  was  much  better  and  cheaper.  He 
stayed  nearly  all  day  and  went  off  finally, 
triumphant  over  the  mother^s  consent  to  have 
her  daughter  break  her  contract  with  the 
first  school  and  go  to  his.  Next  day,  of  course, 
came  the  first  agent,  in  a  rage,  to  threaten 
'^proceedings'^  because  of  the  broken  con- 
tract. The  mother,  frightened,  was  persuaded 
to  turn  about  again  and  keep  the  contract 
to  the  first  school  after  all.  However,  the 
girl  herself  came  home  that  night  from  bus- 
iness school  number  two,  liking  the  girls  and 
full  of  interest,  and  when  she  heard  of  the  new 
development,  she  absolutely  refused  to  change 
again.  More  wrangling  ensued,  also  visits 
from  both  agents.    But  finally,  talk  of  ''pro- 


Solicitation  of  Grade  School  Children         131 

ceedings"  ceased,  and  the  girl  went  on  to  her 
chosen  school,  which  chanced  to  disappoint 
her  in  the  end,  making  her  regret  that  the  first 
contract  had  ever  been  broken. 

In  contrast  to  the  insistent  and  popular  methods 
of  soUcitation  on  the  part  of  the  private  com- 
mercial schools,  stand  the  efforts  of  the  high 
schools  to  appeal  to  the  eighth  grade  pupil  and 
to  urge  him  to  attend.  The  four  assistant  super- 
intendents, heads  of  the  four  school  districts  of 
Cleveland,  were  interviewed  on  this  point  and  a 
smnmary  of  their  statements  follows,  showing 
what  attempts  are  being  made  to  reach  the  eighth 
grade  pupils  in  Cleveland  Pubhc  Schools: 

"The  teachers  and  principals  of  the  grade  schools 
are  constant,  rehable  and  effective  promoters  of 
high  school  education  among  pupils  of  the  eighth 
grades,  giving  out  constant  suggestion  of  high  school 
attendance. '^  But  teachers  and  principals  are  very 
busy.  No  report  of  this  effort  is  ever  required  of 
them  and,  for  such  an  important  matter,  it  is  too 
vaguely  planned. 

Talks  on  the  subject  of  attending  high  school 


132     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

are  frequently  given  by  the  assistant  superintend- 
ents during  their  visits  to  eighth  grade  classes. 
There  is  no  certainty  however,  that  every  school  is 
covered  hy  this  spasmodic  arrangement. 

Each  high  school  principal  used  always  to  make 
the  effort  to  visit  the  grade  schools  in  his  im- 
mediate district  every  year,  and  to  urge  upon  the 
eighth  grade  pupils  attendance  in  his  high  school. 
This  is  no  longer  the  regular  custom,  but  it  is  still 
done  to  some  extent.  It  was  never  done  at  a  regular 
time,  and  not  all  the  schools  were  reached,  perhaps 
not  more  than  half  of  them. 

This  visit  of  the  principal  is  now  largely  replaced 
by  the  distribution  among  all  eighth  grade  children 
of  printed  outlines  and  descriptions  of  courses  in 
all  the  high  schools.  The  outlines  are  given  out 
the  first  of  June  and  are  placed  in  the  hands  of 
every  eighth  grade  teacher,  who  gives  them  to 
the  children  in  her  room.  This,  in  the  opinion  of 
each  of  the  district  superintendents,  is  the  most 
important  effort  made  by  the  high  schools.  These 
outlines  are  simply  unattractive  lists  of  courses,  re- 
quiring   considerable    mental    effort    to    he    grasped^ 


Solicitation  of  Grade  School  Children         133 

and  making  no  appeal  in  either  content  or  form  to 
the  careless  eye  of  the  child. 

In  one  school  district  more  strenuous  efforts 
are  being  made  to  reach  the  individual  child.  Twice 
a  year,  in  February  and  June,  the  eighth  grades 
in  that  district  have  their  commencements  together, 
and  at  these  '^ Union  Exercises''  a  speech  is  always 
made  urging  the  students  to  go  on  to  high  school 
next  year,  and  urging  the  parents  present  at  these 
exercises  to  let  their  children  go.  The  other  school 
districts  have  their  commencements  separately  and 
make  no  effort  at  that  time  to  emphasize  high  school 
attendance. 

In  this  same  district,  a  '^ follow-up  system"  has 
been  worked  out,  at  the  instigation  of  the  district 
superintendent,  whereby  every  child  in  a  certain 
group  chosen  for  study  is  being  carefully  traced 
through  every  step  in  his  progress.  He  receives 
personal  visits  from  the  teachers  and,  in  several 
cases,  has  been  held  in  school  through  the  influence 
of  the  teacher.  This  is  a  splendid  system  that  ought 
to  he  adopted  by  each  district.  But  only  a  small  group 
is  now  being  reached  in  this  personal  way  by  the 


134      Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

public  schools.  Let  this  he  compared  to  the  house  to 
house  canvass  made  by  agents  of  the  private  commer- 
cial schools,  when,  by  every  known  argument  and 
personal  persuasion  of  parents,  as  well  as  children, 
they  try  to  win  the  attendance  of  the  children. 

Often  a  high  school  giving  a  particular  celebra- 
tion, debate,  or  oratorical  contest,  will  invite  the 
eighth  grades  in  the  surrounding  district  to  attend, 
and  this  personal  visit  is  thought  to  give  a  good 
deal  of  a  stimulus  to  the  child's  desire  to  attend 
high  school.  An  excellent  thing  which  hy  no  means 
replaces,  however,  a  system  of  reaching  every  eighth 
grade  child  and  his  parents. 

Criticisms  and  Suggestions 

There  is  evidence  enough  that  unlimited  solicita- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  private  commercial  schools 
is  a  bad  thing,  not  only  for  the  child,  but  for  the 
educational  system,  because  EVEN  IF  THE  PRI- 
VATE COMMERCIAL  SCHOOLS  DO  NOT  SUC- 
CEED IN  GETTING  THE  CHILD,  THE  KIND 
OF  ARGUMENT  USED  IN  THAT  SOLICITA- 
TION  IS   APT   TO   DAMAGE   THE   PUBLIC 


Solicitation  of  Grade  School  Children         135 

SCHOOL  IN  THE  OPINION  OF  THE  CHILD 
AND  HIS  PARENTS;  for  much  is  done  to  shake 
their  confidence  in  it. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  agents  of  these 
business  schools  are  merely  business  men,  having 
no  connection  with  or  interest  in  education.  Being 
hired  agents,  they  are  apart  even  from  the  interests 
of  the  school  they  represent  and  will  say  and  do 
almost  anything  to  secure  a  child  for  that  school 
in  order  that  they  may  pocket  the  price  set  upon 
each  head;  and  no  complaint  from  the  child  about 
guttering  promises  imfulfilled  by  the  school,  can 
reach  the  agent  who  made  them,  because  he  has  no 
connection  with  the  school  as  an  institution  of 
learning.  The  head  of  one  of  these  private  business 
schools  let  slip  a  significant  conoment  on  the  un- 
scrupulous type  of  her  agents,  when  she  said:  ''You'd 
better  beheve  we  don't  sign  any  contract,  until  we 
actually  see  the  child,"  meaning  she  trusted  only 
her  own  eyes  that  the  agent  had  actually  secured 
a  child,  and  not  at  all  the  agent's  statement. 

Some  very  decided  means  ought  to  be  taken  by 
the  public  to  prevent  unlimited  solicitation  on  the 


136     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

part  of  these  schools.  In  the  concluding  chapter 
of  Part  I  definite  suggestion  for  legislation  on  this 
point  is  made.  It  is  significant  to  note  that  the 
private  business  schools  which  demand  a  standard 
of  high  school  preparation,  have  limited  solicitation 
and  that  mainly  of  high  school  graduates. 

There  ought  to  be,  on  the  part  of  the  high 
schools,  more  effort  to  advertise,  and  to  advertise 
effectually,  what  they  have  to  offer  the  child  about 
to  be  graduated  from  the  eighth  grade.  This 
would  be  an  educational  effort  and  the  most  effi- 
cient influence  to  counteract  the  unscrupulous 
attack  on  the  high  schools  made  by  the  misguided 
agents  of  the  private  business  schools.  One  of  the 
assistant  superintendents  of  the  public  schools 
said:  ''No  systematic  scheme  of  advertising  the 
high  schools  to  the  eighth  grade  children  is  tried 
out  at  all,  except  the  issuing  of  the  printed  outlines 
of  the  high  school  courses.  Spasmodic  efforts  are 
made  from  time  to  time,  on  the  part  of  the  schools, 
but  there  is  no  system  of  advertising  at  all.''  The 
outline  in  question  cannot  compare  in  interest,  to 
the  child,  and  to  ignorant  parents,  with  that  of  the 


Solicitation  of  Grade  School  Children         137 

catalogues  of  the  private  business  schools,  with  their 
attractive  pictures  of  students,  graduates,  buildings, 
and  equipment.  Something  more  graphic,  alluring 
and  simple  ought  to  be  printed  and  distributed 
among  the  children,  and  more  especially  among 
their  parents,  by  the  public  schools  who  wish  to 
attract  them.  The  public  schools  ought  also  to 
make  a  more  direct  appeal  to  the  child,  through 
some  personal  influence,  to  succeed  in  holding  his 
interest  and  loyalty,  and  in  saving  him  from  be- 
coming mere  grist  to  the  mill  of  a  money  getting 
scheme.  Further,  the  findings  of  this  study  of 
training  ought  to  be  of  practical  value  in  helping 
grade  teachers  to  show  their  children  the  futility 
of  entering  office  work  with  too  meagre  a  prepara- 
tion. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE 

This  whole  book  is  in  reality  a  treatise  on  voca- 
tional guidance  in  its  application  to  commercial 
work,  and  the  present  chapter  is  but  a  bringing  to- 
gether of  ideas  and  facts  brought  out  all  through 
the  book. 

We  advocate  for  the  public  schools  no  interpreta- 
tion of  vocational  guidance  which  allows  personal 
counsel  or  position  finding  by  teachers  or  principals. 
We  beheve  the  vocational  service  of  the  school  is  a 
more  fundamental  and  inclusive  service  than  this. 
THE  SCHOOL'S  RESPONSIBILITY  IS  TO  PRO- 
VIDE, IN  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  A  PUPIL'S 
SCHOOLING,  OPPORTUNITY  TO  TRY  OUT 
HIS  TENDENCIES;  IN  THE  LATTER  PART, 
TO  PROVIDE  VOCATIONAL  TRAINING  AND 
TO  DISSEMINATE  RELIABLE  INFORMA- 
TION ABOUT  WORK  AND  TRAINING. 

It  is  essential  that  the  pupil's  choice  of  a  voca- 

138 


Vocational  Guidance  139 

tional  school  shall  be  made  at  as  mature  an  age  as 
possible  and  that  it  shall  be  confirmed  by  a  test  of 
the  pupiFs  fitness;  also  that  the  school  shall  follow 
up  a  sufficient  nimiber  of  the  graduates  of  vocational 
classes  to  test  the  efficiency  of  training  and  to  keep 
pace  with  changing  conditions. 

Thus  the  main  points  which  stand  up  to  claim 
the  attention  of  the  public  schools  are  five,  and 
stated  in  their  logical  sequence  are  as  follows : 

1.  Opportimity  in  the  work  of  the  elemen- 
tary schools  for  discovering  pupils'  vocational 
bent. 

2.  Precaution  against  immature  choice  of 
definitely  vocational  training  by  placing  it 
late  in  the  curriculum. 

3.  Dissemination  of  reliable  vocational  in- 
formation. 

4.  Registration  in  vocational  schools  on  the 
basis  of  fitness. 

5.  Follow-up  of  a  proportion  of  the  graduates 
of  vocational  schools  and  classes. 

Everywhere,  on  the  part  of  employers  and  the 
public,  there  is  a  general  acceptance  of  the  need  of 
training  for  commercial  work.  Private  enterprise 
endeavored  to  fuffiU  the  need  first,  and  its  effort 


140     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

has  resulted  in  the  creation  of  private  business 
schools.  More  recently  a  similar  effort  has  been 
made  on  the  part  of  public  school  systems  result- 
ing in  the  establishment  of  high  school  commercial 
courses  in  every  large  city  and  specific  commercial 
high  schools  in  a  few  cities. 

The  Cleveland  High  School  of  Commerce  was 
estabhshed  in  the  fall  of  1909  in  answer  to  the 
demand  of  the  public — business  men  and  commercial 
students  both  being  dissatisfied  with  the  instruction 
offered  at  that  time  in  the  commercial  courses  in  the 
academic  high  schools.  It  is  worth  while  to  review 
the  reasons  for  the  establishment  of  the  High  School 
of  Commerce,  which  gathered  upi^^he  commercial 
courses  from  all  the  schools  and  concentrated  them 
in  one  specialized  school. 

The  principal  of  the  Cleveland  High  School  of 
Commerce  gave  these  as  the  most  important  reasons 
favoring  this  change: 

1.  Complete  correlation  of  all  the  student's 
high  school  work. 

2.  Raising  of  the  status  of  commercial  in- 
struction. 


Vocational  Guidance  141 

The  correlation  of  courses,  which  is  the  distinc- 
tive feature  of  this  High  School  has  been  discussed 
at  length  in  the  chapter  which  considers  Public 
Commercial  Schools.  This  principle,  of  the  utmost 
importance  in  education,  was  impossible  under  the 
old  system.  There  is  considerable  evidence  that  the 
estabhshment  of  the  High  School  of  Commerce 
has  raised  the  status  of  commercial  work  in  the 
estimate  of  high  school  students  and  the  commun- 
ity. The  principal  stated  that,  formerly,  commer- 
cial students  in  academic  high  schools  were  looked 
down  upon  by  academic  students;  commercial 
work  was  considered  a  side  issue;  and  it  was  prac- 
tically impossible  to  m^ke  the  courses  strong  enough 
to  win  the  confidence  of  employers.  Evidence  of  the 
favorable  attitude  of  business  men  today  is  illustrated 
by  a  report  from  the  Advisory  Committee  of  the 
High  School  of  Commerce  to  the  Board  of  Education, 
June  8th,  1914.  This  report  states  that  a  question- 
naire was  sent  out  to  309  employers  asking^bout  the 
proficiency  of  the  work  of  the  graduates  of  the  High 
School  of  Commerce,  and  that  "9S}4%  oi  the  an- 
swers were  favorable  to  the  product  of  the  school. '* 


142     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

A  former  superintendent  of  Cleveland  public 
schools  adds  two  other  reasons  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  High  School  of  Commerce. 

3.  Economy  of  equipment  and  teaching  force. 

4.  Tendency  to  prolong  the  schooling  of 
children  who  are  destined  to  become  wage- 
earners  early. 

The  superintendent  said  that  parents  who  wish 
or  feel  obliged  to  put  their  children  to  work  as  soon 
as  the  law  allows  it  are  far  more  apt  to  permit  them 
to  enter  a  school  definitely  training  them  for  work 
than  to  continue  general  education;  and  the  stu- 
dents themselves  see  the  practical  advantage  of  it. 

The  strong  organization  of  the  Cleveland  High 
School  of  Commerce  has  been  an  inspiration  to  other 
cities  because  of  the  constructive  educational  pro- 
gram it  has  established.  But  the  present  system, 
though  rightly  proud  of  this  achievement  has,  never- 
theless, as  yet  failed  to  accomplish  any  of  the  five 
essentials  named  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter. 

In  other  cities,  imaginative  educators,  willing  to 
experiment,  are  perfecting  plans  or  actually  trying 
out  programs  which  make  provision  as  follows: 


Vocational  Guidance  143 

One  plan  is  that  which  Professor  George  H. 
Mead  set  forth  in  his  report  to  the  City  Club  of 
Chicago,  in  1912.  He  proposes  giving  grade  school 
students  opportunity  to  try  out  their  interest  and 
ability  in  various  lines  of  work.  He  advocates  in  ad- 
dition to  the  regular  7th  and  8th  grade  curriculum, 
two-year  elementary  vocational  schools  which  chil- 
dren can  enter  by  choice  on  completing  the  6th 
grade.  At  the  end  of  two  years  spent  in  this  elemen- 
tary vocational  school,  they  may,  upon  entering 
high  school,  go  on  with  what  they  have  already 
chosen;  change  to  other  vocational  training;  or 
they  may  either  combine  academic  with  voca- 
tional work  or  take  academic  work  altogether. 
Our  objection  to  this  scheme  is  that  it  allows  chil- 
dren 14  or  15  years  old  to  crystalize  their  intentions 
by  choosing  definitely  vocational  work,  and  that 
it  makes  no  provision  for  bridging  the  gap  now 
existing  between  the  grade  and  secondary  schools. 
Its  ^advantage  lies  in  its  flexibility  up  to  the  point 
of  entering  high  school  and  in  the  consequent 
opportunity  it  provides  for  trying  out  tendencies. 

Another  scheme  is  that  outlined  in  the  govern- 


144     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

ment  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education  in 
1912  and  is  called  the  ''6-3-3  plan,"  or  the  ''Six  and 
Six  Plan."  This  plan,  like  that  of  Chicago,  provides 
for  testing  out  individual  tendencies,  but  it  has 
the  additional  advantage  of  postponing  until  the 
first  or  second  year  of  high  school  the  choice  of  a' 
vocational  school.  This  scheme  reorganizes  the 
school  system,  shortening  the  elementary  course 
to  6  grades  and  lengthening  the  high  school  course 
to  6  years,  dividing  it  into  2  parts  of  3  years  each, 
known  as  the  Junior  and  Senior  High  Schools. 
Commercial,  technical,  and  academic  courses  are 
offered  in  the  Jimior  High  School,  which  the  stu- 
dent can  try  as  he  desires.  On  entering  the  Senior 
High  School,  he  can  go  on  with  his  chosen  subject, 
change  to  another  specialty,  or  enter  academic 
work.  By  this  plan,  if  a  student  finally  enters  the 
Senior  High  School  commercial  courses,  he  does  so 
not  blindly  but  presumably  because  he  has  found 
himself  and  knows  something  about  his  own  capa- 
bilities, has  become  familiar  with  the  requirements 
of  high  school  and  has  passed  the  most  restless 
period  of  adolescence. 


Vocational  Guidance  145 

It  remains  to  be  proved  that  the  6-3-3  plan  is  the 
most  flexible  and  practicable  educational  program 
possible;  but  evidence  is  at  hand  of  the  successful 
application  of  it — in  California,  in  Indiana,  and  in 
scattered  cities  and  towns  including  St.  Louis  and 
Fitchburg.  In  California,  the  experiment  has 
been  tried  for  six  years  and  has  enthusiastic  sup- 
porters. 

A  change  which  we  especially  urge  in  Cleveland's 
school  curriculum  is  the  postponement  of  specific 
vocational  training.  The  choice  between  academic 
and  vocational  training  or  between  different  kinds 
of  vocational  training  is  a  choice  that  may  influence, 
if  not  determine,  a  child's  whole  future.'  Under 
the  present  school  organization,  this  choice  comes 
at  the  point  of  passing  from  the  grades  into  high 
school;  and  for  most  children,  at  the  age  of  14  or 
15  years.  Pupils  at  this  point  are  apt  to  be  either 
vague  or  mistaken  in  their  vocational  planning. 
What  experience  of  life  have  they?  How  much 
general  or  specific  knowledge  bearing  upon  occupa- 
tions are  they  capable  of?  They  know  themselves 
least  of  all,  for  the  period  from  14  to  16  years  is 


146     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

the  period  of  mental  and  physical  change.  The 
plan  which  meets  this  need  of  postponement,  and 
which  has  proved  its  practicability  is  the  6-3-3 
plan  as  above  described.  By  this  plan,  it  has  been 
pointed  out,  the  pupil  makes  his  final  choice  of 
vocational  training  when  he  enters  the  Senior 
High  School,  which  corresponds  to  the  usual  soph- 
omore year.  This  is  in  fact  a  postponement  of 
one  year  only.  Why  then  is  this  year  to  be  consid- 
ered a  significant  thing? 

Firsty  by  the  6-3-3  plan  the  break  comes  at  the 
sixth  grade.  At  this  point,  when  a  pupil  is  11  or  12 
years  of  age,  there  is  no  possibihty  of  dropping 
out  of  school  on  account  of  wage-earning  neces- 
sity. So  a  pupil  gets  carried  over  into  Junior  High 
School  without  opposition  on  his  family's  part  or 
his  own.  Once  launched  on  the  continuous  course 
of  three  years  in  work  which  represents,  to  some 
extent,  his  own  choice,  the  chances  are  good  that 
he  will  stay  on  to  the  end.  There  is  no  time  in 
the  period  of  three  years  when  he  and  his  family 
are,  by  established  custom,  forced  to  face  the  ques- 
tion, "Shall  he  leave  school  or  not?''    Such  a  ques- 


Vocational  Guidance  147 

tion  is  forced  under  the  Cleveland  system,  as  in 
most  cities,  when  eighth  grade  graduation  is  attained. 
A  secondary  reason  is  that  he  may  have  become  so 
interested  in  what  the  school  is  doing  for  him  that 
he  will  stay  from  choice  and  with  his  parents' 
approval. 

Second,  the  postponement  of  choice  for  this  one 
year  is  important  because  having  been  already  in 
high  school  for  three  years,  the  student  now  com- 
prehends perfectly  the  high  school  arrangement 
of  courses  so  widely  different  from  that  in  the 
grade  schools,  and  he  constantly  hears  opinions 
expressed  and  comparisons  made  regarding  the 
various  courses  in  the  Senior  High  School.  In 
short,  there  is  not  the  gap  between  the  elementary 
schools  and  the  Junior  High  School  or  between  the 
Junior  and  Senior  High  Schools  that  there  is  between 
the  eighth  grade  and  the  freshman  year  of  high 
school  as  organized  in  Cleveland.  He  enters  Senior 
High  School  with  intelligence  and  requires  no 
time  for  adjustment. 

Third,  the  year  counts  to  some  extent  in  progress 
toward   physical  maturity  and  maturity   of  pur- 


148     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

pose,  and  the  period  of  testing  out  tendencies  is 
for  that  much  time  extended. 

WE,  THEREFORE,  RECOMMEND  A  REVI- 
SION OF  THE  PRESENT  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 
ON  THE  BASIS  OF  THE  ^'6-3-3  PLAN''  BE- 
CAUSE IT  GIVES  SCOPE  FOR  TRYING  OUT 
TENDENCIES,  BRIDGES  THE  GAP  BETWEEN 
ELEMENTARY  AND  HIGH  SCHOOLS  AND 
POSTPONES  THE  STUDENT'S  FINAL  CHOICE 
OF  VOCATIONAL  TRAINING.  The  education 
offered  in  the  three  years  of  the  Jimior  High  School 
ought  to  be  made  general  for  all  high  school  pupils. 
The  courses  included  ought  to  be  neither  definitely 
vocational  or  exclusively  academic,  and  ought  to 
offer  for  all  students  the  same  general  foundation 
with  elective  vocational  and  academic  courses  for 
the  purpose  of  finding  out  the  tendencies  of  the 
student.  The  Senior  High  School  should  provide 
in  addition  to  academic  work,  definitely  vocational 
courses.  Specialized  commercial  training  by  this 
plan  would  cover  three  years  instead  of  four  years 
as  in  the  Cleveland  system.  The  difficulties  of  such 
revision  are  perhaps  not  serious;  but  in  any  case 


Vocational  Guidance  149 

the  student  should  not  be  bent  to  fit  the  established 
system,  but  the  estabHshed  system  should  be 
adjusted  to  the  needs  of  the  student  as  they  become 
better  understood. 

The  free  trymg  out  of  tendencies  needs  to  be 
supplemented  by  the  application  of  definite  tests 
for  those  who  are  about  to  choose  specialized  train- 
ing. Cleveland  schools  use  neither  method.  Chil- 
dren enter  vocational  schools  because  they  must 
be  wage-earners.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
present  large  registration  at  the  High  School  of 
Commerce  is  partly  due  to  the  fact  that,  as  yet, 
such  a  limited  range  of  choice  of  definitely  voca- 
tional training  is  offered  in  the  public  schools. 
Sometimes  the  choice  of  commercial  training  is  the 
result  of  careful  deliberation,  but  often  it  is  a  leap  in 
the  dark.  Mary  chooses  to  take  business  training  be- 
cause Katherine  is  going  to,  or  because  some  of  her 
family  took  it  and  made  good  in  business  afterward. 

In  order  that  the  school  shall  make  real  use  of 
information  gained  in  studying  the  student  through- 
out the  elementary  schools,  and  in  6rder  to  finally 
determine  the  wisdom  of  the  student's  final  choice 


150     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

of  advanced  education  or  training,  a  better  system 
of  registration  than  now  obtains  in  the  high  schools 
should  be  organized.  Records  of  what  has  been 
discovered  about  the  student  in  the  elementary 
schools  should  be  in  the  hands  of  those  in  charge  of 
high  school  registration;  and  this,  together  with  some 
definite  test  of  inherent  fitness,  should  show  whether 
the  student  has  elected  the  right  vocational  or  aca- 
demic high  school.  Such  a  test  would  also  determine 
the  fitness  of  entering  students  who  have  received 
their  preliminary  education  outside  of  Cleveland. 

At  least  one  important  experiment  in  devising 
a  test  of  this  sort  has  been  worked  out.  This  was 
done  by  Professor  James  E.  Lough  of  New  York 
University.  He  first  presented  his  idea  in  a  paper 
read  before  the  Vocational  Guidance  Conference  in 
New  York  City  in  1912  and  pubhshed  in  1914  as 
a  separate  pamphlet.  This  paper  seems  to  predict 
what  science  can  do  in  a  practical  way  to  aid  the 
schools  in  their  final  testing  of  the  special  fitness 
of  pupils.  Professor's  Lough's  experiment  shows 
how  practical  psychology  may  be  useful  in  testing 
"certain   functions"   of   the  mind   which   indicate 


Vocational  Guidance  151 

what  kind  of  work  the  mdividual  can  perform. 
The  test  is  a  simple  one  of  quick  habit  formation 
and  shows  capacity  to  become  a  good  typist.  ''Each 
person  is  given  a  sheet  which  contains  20  letters  of 
the  alphabet,  arranged  without  order,  ten  lines  of 
these  and  no  two  lines  the  same.  On  the  top  line 
is  what  is  called  the  key.  The  letters  are  arranged 
in  alphabetical  order  on  the  top  line;  beneath  the 
first  letter,  'A,'  is  the  equivalent  letter ,  in  this  case 
F.  .  .  .  The  subject  is  required  to  look  on  the 
first  letter  of  the  top  line,  find  its  equivalent  letter 
and  write  it  down,  then  the  next  letter  .  .  .  and 
so  on  for  every  letter  of  the  top  line  writing  the  time 
required  at  the  end  of  the  line.  Then  repeat  this 
operation  for  each  line  on  the  page." 

FORMATION  OF  HABIT 

(Reprint) 

KEY  NO.  3 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTetc. 

i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  I  I  i  i   i  i  i  i  i  i 
FGXHRWVLDMBJ A S C YIKUZ    " 

Test  Sheet  Time 

KCENORAFBILGSMPTDJHQetc. 
MKNGOLCAEBTIFQJPHRDS  " 


152     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Professor  Lough  demonstrates  in  his  pamphlet  that 
habit  curves,  which  have  been  worked  out  in 
various  experiments,  show  that  individuals  ''who 
are  highest  in  habit  formation  are  also  highest  in 
typewriting."  ''It  is  pretty  evident,"  he  says, 
"that  if  we  give  these  pupils  a  test  in  habit  forma- 
tion first,  we  can  determine  which  pupils  are  ca- 
pable of  doing  good  work  in  typewriting,  and  we 
can  save  some  pupils  a  great  amount  of  wear  and 
tear,  by  simply  allowing  them  to  take  some  other 
work  in  place  of  typewriting." 

Students  in  the  public  schools  have  an  imme- 
diate need  that  is  in  the  present  power  of  the  school 
system  to  fulfill.  This  is  the  need  of  much  wider 
dissemination  of  information  about  all  the  pos- 
sibiHties  of  suitable  vocational  and  academic  train- 
ing, offered  within  and  without  the  school  system. 
At  whatever  age  it  is  decided  best  for  students  to 
choose  their  training,  complete  information  about 
every  possibihty  ought  be  given  to  them  and  their 
parents.  This  point  has  already  been  discussed, 
in  part,  in  the  chapter  on  Solicitation,  but  is  urged 
again  here,  in  connection  with  the  student's  need 


Vocational  Guidance  153 

of  adequate  and  reliable  facts  which  will  form  a 
basis  for  right  choice  of  special  training.  How 
many  of  the  citizens  of  Cleveland  know  with  any 
completeness  the  range  of  vocational  and  academic 
training  offered  by  the  public  schools?  How  many 
parents  and  students  know  that  in  the  night  schools 
any  subject  given  in  the  day  high  schools  may  be 
had  if  a  large  enough  number  (usually  25  or  30) 
of  students  unite  to  demand  it?  This  information 
ought  to  be  the  property  of  all.  Not  only  is  it 
necessary  and  vital  to  inform  the  grade  school 
students  what  the  high  school  offers,  but  also  to 
send,  to  children  who  have  left  school,  information 
about  the  starting  of  new  courses.  Posters  con- 
taining such  information  should  be  placed  by  the 
school  in  libraries,  social  centers  and  places  of 
employment.  It  is  incumbent  on  the  schools  to 
make  every  effort  to  increase  the  use  of  school 
equipment  by  greater  attendance,  both  day  and 
night. 

A  lesson  in  advertising  public  school  courses  may 
be  taken  from  the  method  employed  by  the  school 
board  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland.    There,  use  has  been 


154     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

made  of  every  possible  facility  for  scattering  broad- 
cast information  about  public  continuation  classes. 
A  paid  organizer  distributes  posters  and  handbills; 
circular  letters  are  sent  to  employers,  to  parents 
of  children  leaving  the  day  school  and  to  trade 
imions;  teachers  and  clergymen  are  asked  to  urge 
attendance  at  classes;  the  press  is  supplied  with 
information  for  special  articles,  and  paid  advertise- 
ments are  inserted;  members  of  the  school  board  and 
the  organizer  address  meetings  of  employees  at  large 
factories  and  other  places  of  employment  to  per- 
sonally urge  their  attendance  at  these  classes.  The 
result  of  these  efforts  was  that  attendance  at  the 
classes  trebled  in  7  years.  (Report  of  Organizer, 
Session  1912-1913,  Edinburgh  School  Board.) 

It  is  also  important  for  the  school, — especially 
the  high  schools,  to  provide  reUable  information 
about  training  offered  outside  the  school  system, 
if  it  is  of  a  kind  the  schools  do  not  offer.  An  illus- 
tration of  the  failing  of  the  schools  to  do  this  is 
found  in  the  experience  of  a  girl  who  was  inter- 
viewed for  this  study,  and  whose  evidence  is  corrob- 
orated by  that  of  others. 


Vocational  Guidance  155 

Miss  S,  who  had  gone  from  high  school  to 
business  school  because  a  friend  influenced  her 
to  go  with  her,  said  that  she  hated  office  work 
and  business;  and  when,  after  a  long  period 
of  trying  to  adapt  herself  to  commercial  work 
and  failing,  she  finally  gave  it  up  to  enter 
library  work,  she  felt  for  the  first  time  that 
wage-earning  might  involve  joy  and  interest. 
She  concluded  her  story  with  this  comment: 
''There  is  great  need  for  the  high  school  to 
provide  complete  information  about  various 
lines  of  opportunity.  If  I  had  known  about 
library  work  as  a  means  of  wage-earning  I 
would  have  gone  right  into  it  and  would  not 
have  wasted  so  long  a  time  doing  work  I  hated, 
at  the  bank.  I  wouldn't  have  spent  all  that 
money,  either,  taking  a  business  course,  that 
was  no  good  to  me.  I  think  that  knowledge 
of  all  the  things  that  girls  can  do  to  earn  a 
hving  ought  to  be  told  every  high  school  girl, 
for  I  know  so  many  who  wasted  time  and 
money  because  they  were  ignorant  of  the 
possibilities." 

A  follow-up  system  on  the  part  of  the  school 
should  be  organized  to  reach  at  least  a  proportion 
of  the  children  who  leave  school.  Definite  help 
could  then  be  given  young  people  already  at  work, 
in  regard  to  opportunities  for  training  and  educa- 


156     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

tion  at  night  school;  and  the  mass  of  records  of  the 
actual  experience  of  children  who  drop  out  of  school 
into  work  would  indicate  the  kind  of  training  the 
school  needs  to  provide.  Yet  we  believe  that  in- 
formation about  work  gained  through  follow-up 
should  be  regarded  merely  as  supplementary  and 
as  a  test  of  the  efficiency  of  training;  and  that  THE 
SCHOOL  SHOULD  LOOK  TO  QUALIFIED  OUT- 
SIDE ORGANIZATIONS  TO  PROVIDE  RELI- 
ABLE AND  COMPLETE  OCCUPATIONAL  IN- 
FORMATION WHICH  IT  SHALL  BE  THE 
SCHOOL'S  PART  TO  DISSEMINATE.  One 
school  district  in  Cleveland  is  doing  follow-up 
work  regularly  (this  is  described  further  in  the 
chapter  on  SoHcitation)  and  is  accumulating  in- 
teresting and  valuable  records,  which  already  point 
to  the  advantage  that  lies  in  doing  this  work,  on  a 
large  scale.  Let  the  school  then  make  use  of  its 
opportunity  to  keep  its  hold  on  the  groups  that 
need  it  most,  keep  the  cords  taut  that  unite  the 
great  institution  and  the  individual  child.  This 
close  association  is  needed  for  the  growth  of  each 
and  for  mutual  guidance. 


CHAPTER  IX 


CONCLUSION 


The  following  true  statement  of  a  girl  worker 
sums  up — with  more  vividness  than  our  own  words 
could  express — the  consequences  of  inadequate 
training. 

''To  tell  you  the  downright  truth,  I  can- 
not speak  well  for  that  school  or  recommend  it 
to  anybody.  Why?  Reason  enough.  They 
don't  pay  no  attention  to  you  at  all.  When 
yom*  'Cash  Payment^  is  down,  that's  enough 
for  you.  You  can  come  or  stay  away;  you 
can  get  your  lessons  or  miss  'em,  it's  all  the 
same  to  those  people.  They  don't  care  any- 
thing about  you  or  pay  any  attention.  I'd 
ask  questions  about  my  work — and  I  worked 
hard  too — ^and  the  teachers  would  just  say, 
'You  go  and  sit  down  and  figure  it  out  your- 
self.' And  I  don't  care  how  smart  a  girl  is, 
she  can't  figure  everything  out,  or  why  is  she 
in  school  at  all?  The  bookkeeping  teacher 
would  say,  'Is  your  work  ready? '  and  I'd  say: 
'You  know  it  is.  It  has  been  ready  for  three 
157 


158     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

days  just  waiting  for  you  to  pay  a  little  atten- 
tion to  me/  And  then  he'd  check  it  up,  and 
wouldn't  ever  talk  over  mistakes  with  me  at 
all.  And  all  the  time  he  kept  me  waiting,  I'd 
never  dare  go  on  with  my  work,  for  he'd  scold 
if  I  did  that,  so  I  just  used  to  have  to  sit,  some- 
times for  three  days  at  a  time.  And  then  my 
books  would  be  borrowed  as  soon  as  they 
were  handed  back  correct.  The  kids  would 
ask  me  how  to  do  it,  and  I  can't  refuse  any- 
body, and  the  books  would  be  all  over  the  room 
in  no  time.  Just  think  of  that  way  of  studying 
bookkeeping;  what  good  would  it  do  them  in 
real  life,  where  they  can't  borrow  off  of  any- 
body? Yes,  we  had  one  good  teacher  in  stenog- 
raphy. We  had  her  for  three  weeks  and  then 
she  left.  That's  another  thing  about  that 
school,  and  I  haven't  told  anybody  this — the 
way  they  can't  keep  their  teachers.  They 
just  change  all  the  time.  And  most  of  them 
aren't  any  good.  I  was  as  good  as  my  book- 
keeping teacher,  and  when  I'd  ask  him  ques- 
tions, he'd  say:  'Where  did  you  get  those 
questions?  I  know  they're  bookkeeping  but 
I  can't  answer  them.'  Did  you  ever?  And  he 
a  teacher. 

"Oh,  I  never  did  want  to  go  to  that  school, 
and  now  I'm  downright  sorry  I  ever  went. 
I  wanted  to  go  to  high  school  and  had  all  my 
plans  made  to  do  that,  and  my  mother  and 


Conclusion  159 

father  wanted  me  to  go  there  too.  And — 
Oh,  I  don't  know — they  never  let  you  alone. 
Did  agents  come  to  our  house?  Well,  I  guess 
they  did.  For  a  soUd  month,  four  of  them; 
they  never  let  us  alone  a  minute.  Even  the 
head  of  the  school  came.  And  they  talk  so 
smooth  and  they  argue  you  so,  it  just  makes 
you  sick  and  tired.  Mother  never  did  want 
me  to  go  there  and  I  never  did  want  to  go, 
but  I  did  just  because  I  couldn't  get  rid  of 
those  men.  I  don't  think  I  want  to  go  on 
with  office  work  now.  I'm  so  sick  and  dis- 
couraged and  don't  think  I  ever  had  the  prac- 
tice or  the  training  that  I  need  to  be  a  real 
success.  And  that's  not  my  fault,  for  I  used 
to  take  my  books  home  and  work  often  till 
eleven  at  night.  But  the  school  simply  never 
paid  any  attention.  I  feel  now  that  if  I  went 
on  with  office  work  that  it  would  be  just  drag- 
ging myself  to  do  it.  I  hate  the  thought  of 
doing  it  and  I  don't  feel  that  I  really  know 
anything  about  it  or  understand  what  I  am 
trying  to  do. 

"Oh,  I  never  would  advise  anybody  to  go  to 
that  school.  All  the  girls  down  our  way  who 
went  are  sorry  they  went  and  they  tell  every- 
body they  can  not  to  go  there,  and  their  par- 
ents tell  other  girls'  fathers  and  mothers  not 
to  send  them.  And  the  way  that  school  takes 
Httle  bits  of  tots  is  honestly  a  shame,  as  young 


160     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

as  fourteen,  and  what  do  they  know  about 
business?  Bookkeeping  is  hard  enough  for 
a  girl  of  19  years.  I  look  at  them  coming  in 
and  wish  I  could  stop  them!" 

Commercial  education  because  it  is  education 
and  because  it  applies  to  young  people  of  school 
age,  belongs  logically  to  the  public  schools.  There- 
fore, in  our  conclusions  and  recommendations 
which  follow  we  regard  our  public  school  system 
as  the  responsible  and  controlling  factor. 

1.  The  school  ought  to  possess  the  field.  It 
now  possesses  in  Cleveland — in  day  pupils — 
only  10  percent  of  it.  It  ought  to  provide 
vocational  education  in  the  same  ratio  as 
academic.  It  should  not  make  children  of 
the  poorer  parents  pay  private  tuition  rates 
for  essential  educational  training.  To  give 
the  balance  of  consideration  to  pupils  able  to  l 
continue  academic  education  is  unfair  dis- 
crimination. Further,  the  school  needs  to 
possess  the  field  in  order  to  safeguard  the 
best  interests  of  school  children. 

2.  Efforts  must  he  made  to  counteract  the 
misguided  demands  of  parents  which  are  the 
chief  obstacle  to  extension.  They  want  the 
pubhc  schools  to  take  the  children  as  young 


Conclusion  161 

and  prepare  them  as  quickly  as  the  private 
schools  do.  In  some  way,  these  parents  must 
be  persuaded  that  if  the  pubUc  school  is  not 
providing  a  nine  months'  'ihurry  up''  course 
for  training  a  fifteen  year  old  seventh  grade 
child  to  become  a  stenographer,  it  is  because 
the  school  knows  it  cannot  be  done. 

3.  The  school  should  give  more  consideration 
to  night  commercial  classes,  regarding  them  as  a 
very  important  and  distinct  department  of 
public  education. 

4.  More  discrimination  should  he  exercised 
in  registering  pupils  for  commercial  courses, 
admission  being  on  the  basis  of  adequate 
preparation  and  inherent  fitness. 

5.  The  freedom  of  private  business  schools  to 
solicit  grade  school  children  should  he  curtailed. 
The  fact  that  certain  private  schools  are  preyr 
ing  upon  the  ignorance  of  poor  illiterates 
and  foreigners;  that  they  are  taking  money — 
one  hundred  dollars  per  victim — for  ''goods 
that  cannot  be  delivered;"  and  that  they  are, 
perhaps,  depriving  children  of  legitimate  educa- 
tion, are  matters  for  city  wide  concern. 

We  have  shown  how  imfortunate  is  the  fate  of 
such  children  in  the  business  world;  how  insidious, 
in  their  opposition  to  general  high  school  education, 
are  the  arguments  of  solicitors  for  private  business 


162     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

schools.  The  children  in  question  are  minors  and 
therefore  subject  to  protection  under  school  law. 
We  have,  in  Ohio,  a  law  which  defines  the  condi- 
tions under  which  children  of  school  age  may  leave 
school  to  go  to  work.  WHY  NOT  HAVE  A  LAW 
WHICH  DEFINES  THE  CONDITIONS  UNDER 
WHICH  CHILDREN  MAY  LEAVE  PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS  TO  ENTER  PRIVATE  ONES?  Our 
school  law  states  that  girls  may  not  leave  academic 
school  if  they  have  not  completed  the  seventh 
grade,  and  they  may  not  be  employed  if  they  have 
not  reached  the  age  of  sixteen.  The  official  in 
our  local  public  school  system  who  issues  working 
papers  has  made  a  ruling  that  girls  may  not  sub- 
stitute a  private  business  school  for  an  academic 
school  until  they  have  completed  the  seventh  grade. 
But  having  completed  that  grade,  even  though  they 
may  be  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  they  are  free  to 
make  this  substitution. 

In  the  attempt  to  discover  a  precedent  for  legis- 
lation that  covers  this  phase  of  school  leaving,  the 
aid  of  The  Children's  Bureau,  Washington,  D.  C, 
was  sought.    The  reply  to  our  letter  follows: 


Conclusion  163 

''It  appears  that  in  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire,  Maine  and  North  Dakota  the 
law  especially  says  that  private  schools  must 
be  approved  by  local  school  authorities  before 
attendance  will  be  accepted  in  fulfillment  of 
the  compulsory  education  law.  Other  states 
have  various  similar  provisions.  The  Rhode 
Island  law  requires  that  the  school  committee 
shall  be  satisfied  that  the  instruction  given 
in  a  private  school  is  substantially  equal  to 
that  required  by  law.  In  Pennsylvania,  the 
law  provides  that  the  work  of  the  private 
school  must  be  in  compHance  with  the  provi- 
sion of  the  compulsory  attendance  act  but 
this  fact  is  certified  to  only  by  the  principal 
of  the  private  school.  Arizona,  Kansas,  North 
Carolina,  and  South  Dakota  require  that  the 
private  school  must  be  taught  by  'competent' 
teachers;  California,  Connecticut,  Iowa,  Mich- 
igan, and  New  Jersey  that  it  must  give  in- 
struction in  the  branches  taught  in  the  public 
schools  of  the  district;  New  York,  that  the  in- 
struction must  be  'equivalent  to'  that  given  in 
the  pubhc  schools;  Vermont,  that  if  a  child  does 
not  attend  a  public  school  he  must  be  other- 
wise furnished  the  instruction  required  by  law; 
and  West  Virginia  that,  if  he  does  not  attend 
a  public  school,  he  must  be  thoroughly  and 
systematically  instructed  elsewhere. 

"In  these  latter  states,  however,  it  is  not 


164     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

definitely  stated  in  the  law  by  whom  the  stand- 
ard of  the  private  school  is  to  be  determined. 
Only  a  thorough  study  of  the  administration 
of  the  laws  in  these  states  would  show  whether 
or  not  private  schools  are  actually  in  practice 
approved  by  public  authorities.  Moreover, 
the  gradations  in  legislation  are  such  that  it 
would  not  be  safe  to  say  that  such  approval 
may  not  be  required  in  other  states.  There 
may  even  be  other  provisions  of  law  which 
would  affect  this  matter  and  make  such  ap- 
proval necessary. 

"I  am  sorry  that  this  question  cannot  be 
more  definitely  answered  but  the  laws  upon  the 
subject  are  so  various  that  it  is  practically  im- 
possible to  draw  any  hard  and  fast  line  between  . 
states  which  require  in  various  degrees  public 
approval  of  the  standard  of  instruction  given 
in  private  schools  which  may  be  accepted  in 
fulfillment  of  compulsory  education  laws.'' 
Signed,  Julia  C.  Lathrop,  Chief, 

The  point  upon  which  such  legislation  hinges 
apparently  is  standardization  of  private  school  work, 
which  of  course  depends  upon  supervision.  Stand- 
ardization of  academic  education  has  long  been 
in  general  practice;  why  should  it  not  apply  to 
commercial    education    as    well?      The    school    in 


Conclusion  165 

assimiing  such  supervision  would  not  only  be  pro- 
tecting the  interests  of  school  age  children,  but 
would  at  the  same  time  be  raising  the  standard  of 
office  work. 


PART  II 


CHAPTER  I 

A  CLASSIFICATION  OF  OFFICE  WORK 

We  present  here  the  most  detailed  study  of  girls' 
work  in  offices  yet  printed,  so  far  as  we  know. 
Our  information,  corroborated  in  several  ways  by 
paragraphs  which  follow,  is  based  upon  an  investiga- 
tion of  the  office  work  in  133  Cleveland  establish- 
ments, representing  33  lines  of  business.  The 
columns  below  show  what  these  lines  of  business 
are  and  the  number  of  establishments  visited  in 
each. 

Kinds  of  Business  Represented         No.  of  Establishments  Visited 

Retail 14 

Manufacturing 42 

Addressing 6 

Doctors'  Offices 3 

Dentists'      "     3 

Public  and  Court  Stenography 5 

Insurance 7 

Transportation 

Railroad 3 

Steamship 3 

169 


170      Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 


Kinds  of  Business  Represented        No.  of  Establishments  Visited 
Transportation — Continued 

Express 1 

Telegraph 2 

Banking 7 

Law 8 

Architecture 1 

Engineering 1 

Real  Estate 3 

Printing 5 

Wholesale 4 

Agency 1 

Service 

Telephone 

Gas 

Electric  Illuminating 

Ice 

Sales  Offices 

Oil 

Automobile 

Commission 

Furniture 

Public  Accounting 

Propaganda 

Missionary  Society 

National  Soc.  for  Propaganda 

Municipal  Offices 

Library 

City  Hall 


A  Classification  of  Office  Work  171 

The  classification  we  offer  is  a  study  of  the  2816 
positions  open  to  girls  in  the  133  establishments 
visited.  Our  records  of  establishments  show  the 
organization  of  their  work  in  detail;  and  they  show, 
for  every  position,  the  kind  of  work  or  combination 
of  kinds  of  work,  included.  Every  position  dis- 
covered in  the  study  appears  in  the  classification 
and  is  assigned  to  its  proper  group.  The  groups, 
which  are  eight,  we  have  formed  on  the  basis  of 
responsibility  or  special  training.  Both  the  groups 
and  the  positions  fisted  within  groups  have  been 
set  down  in  the  order  of  their  importance,  the  more 
important  first.  This  order  may  be  violated  in  the 
case  of  combinations  of  work — like  stenography 
and  translating — which  have  been  uniformly  set 
down  at  the  end  of  the  fist. 

We  have  attempted  to  verify  our  classification 
locaUy  by  showing  the  distribution  of  930  office 
positions  advertised  in  the  daily  papers  and  278 
positions  described  in  our  records  of  workers. 
These  positions  are  noted  in  the  classification  in 
the  following  ways:  brackets  to  indicate  newspaper 
advertisements  and  parentheses  to  indicate  workers^ 


172     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

records.  Every  kind  of  position  represented  in 
these  additional  1208  positions  found  a  place  in  the 
classification  with  the  exception,  in  12  instances, 
of  varying  combinations  with  stenography,  book- 
keeping or  machines;  and  there  is  evident  corrob- 
oration of  the  proportionate  numbers  accorded  to 
various  positions  by  the  classification.  But  the 
chief  ground  for  trusting  the  reliability  of  the 
classification  is, 

1.  The  wide  range  of  business  it  covers. 

2.  Its  truthful  representation  of  the  proportion- 
ate numbers  of  positions  in  the  establishments  in- 
cluded, for,  in  compiling  this  table,  NO  FIGURES 
WERE  SET  DOWN  FOR  ANY  ESTABLISH- 
MENT UNLESS  THE  INFORMATION  ABOUT 
KINDS  OF  POSITIONS  AND  NUMBERS  EM- 
PLOYED IN  THAT  ESTABLISHMENT  HAD 
BEEN  ENTERED  ON  THE  RECORDS  WITH 
ABSOLUTE  COMPLETENESS. 


A  Classification  of  Office  Work  173 

Classification  of  Office  Work  for  Girls 

Based  on  a  study  of  2816  positions 

for  girls  in  133  business  oflBces. 
These  offices  represent  33  distinct 
kinds  of  business. 

Positions  for  Girls  Number  of  Positions  Offered 
I.  Management.                                                     50 

Office  management  ...  7 

Department  manag'm't  6 

Executive 13 

Executive  secretary ...  1 

Supervision    and    em- 
ployment    14 

Supervision 9 

II.  Special.  15 

Research 1 

Copy-writing  in  adver- 
tising department ...  9 

Proof-reading 5 

III.  Stenography.  995  [808]  (208) 

Management  of  steno- 
graphic bureau 2 

Court  stenography ....  1 

Private  secretary 19               (1) 

Correspondence 10      [1] 

Expert  stenography ...  6 

Stenography 914  [719]  (154) 

Stenography  and  trans- 
lating    1 

Stenography  and  book- 
keeping    1    [341    (26) 

Stenography  and  statis- 
tical work 1 

Stenography  and   bill- 
ing   20      [1]      (5) 

Stenography  and  dictat- 
ing machine 4               (1) 


174     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Positions  for  Girls  Number  of  Positions  Offered 

Stenography — Continued 

Stenography    and    re- 
search    1 

Stenography  and  gen- 
eral office 15    [53]    (12) 

(Stenography,       filing)  (4) 

(Stenography  and  cata- 
loging)    (1) 

(Stenography  and  figur- 
ing)   (1) 

(Stenography  and  exec- 
utive)   (1) 

(Stenography,  filing  and 
billing) (1) 

(Stenography  and  cash- 
ier)   (1) 


IV.  Bookkeeping.  569    [55]    (14) 

Teller  in  bank 1 

Secretary  and  treasurer 

of  company 1 

Assistant   treasurer   of 

company 3 

Expert  auditing 2 

Expert  cashier  work ...  2 

Expert  bookkeeping. . .  7 

Expert  statistical  work .  35 

Bookkeeping 160    [27]      (8) 

Auditing 196 

Cashier  work 5    [13] 

Tube  work 16      [4]      (1) 

Figuring 98 

Bookkeeping  and  filing.  1 

Bookkeeping  and  cash- 
ier work 12      [2]      (2) 

Cashier  and  check- 
room work 30 


A  Classification  of  Office  Work 


175 


Positions  for  Girls 
Bookkeeping — Continued 
[(Bookkeeping  and  bill- 
ing)]   

[(Bookkeeping  and  gen- 
eral oflBce)] 

[(Bookkeeping  and  typ- 
ing)!  

V.  Department  Clerks. 

Accident  claim  clerk . . . 

Application  clerk  (in- 
surance)  

Complaint  clerk 

Credit  clerk 

Employment  clerk .... 

Endorsement  clerk  (in- 
surance)   

Exchange  of  mdse.  clerk 

File  clerk 

Information  clerk 

Mail  clerk 

Order  clerk 

Pay-roll  clerk 

Record  clerk 

Stock-room  clerk 


Number  of  Positions  Offered 

[11      (1) 
[3]      (1) 


18 


VI.  Clerical  Work. 

Records 132 

Entering 107 

Sales  and  expense  re- 
ports         4 

Listing  stock  and  pric- 
ing       19 

Cataloging 2 

Filing 155 

Filing 37 

Filing     and     record 
work 81 


[51      (1) 


(1) 


39 


(1) 


485      [4]      (2) 


(1) 
[4]      (1) 


176     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Positions  for  Girls  Number  of  Positions  Offered 
Clerical  Work — Continued 

Filing  and  statistical .  20 

Filing  and  library ...  3 

Filing  and  noting  let- 
ters    1 

Filing  and  general  of- 
fice    3 

Filing  and  checking  .  10 

Miscellaneous 127 

Planning  orders  ....  5 

Making         appoint- 
ments    7 

Tabulating 60 

Tracing  and  verifying  27 

Counting  and  sorting  7 

Mailing 21 

Longhand 71 

Copying  and  writing 

forms 37 

Writing  tags  and  slips  34 

VII.  Machine  Work.  642    [37]    (43) 

Typewriter 399 

Typing  and  dictating 

machine 94  [6]      (3) 

Policy  typing 1 

Billing  on  typewriter.     26  [5] 

Typing 241  [20]    (27) 

Typing  and  mailing  .31 
Typing  and  advertise- 
ments         6 

[(Typing  and  general 

office)] [3]      (2) 

[(Typing  and  multi- 
graphing)]  (1) 

Billing          machine  .  .  130      [2]      (6) 

Tabulating        "  32  (1) 

Multigraph .  19  (2) 


A  Classification  of  Office  Work  177 

Positions  for  Girls  Number  of  Positions  Offered 

Machine  Work — Continued 

Comptometer 26 

Addressing  machine. . .  12      [1] 

Mimeograph 1 

Adding  machine 1 

Ticket-stamping 2 

Billing     machine     and 

comptometer 18 

Comptometer  and  add- 
ing machine 2 

(Billing  and  general  of- 
fice)   (1) 

VIII.  General  Office:  Infor- 
mation,      Receiving 

people,  Telephone  . .  21    [19]      (8) 

(Unclassified) [7]      (2) 

An  attempt  was  made  to  secure  from  the  Ap- 
pointment Bureau  of  the  Women's  Educational 
and  Industrial  Union  of  Boston,  and  from  the 
System  Magazine  of  Chicago,  any  classification  of 
office  work  for  women  which  they  might  have 
worked  out.  Letters  received  from  them,  from 
which  we  quote  below,  show  that  they  had  not 
classified  office  work  in  sufficient  detail  to  be  of 
practical  use  to  us.  But  the  suggestions  offered 
are  valuable  as  corroboration;  for,  all  the  positions 
they  mention  have  found  a  place  in  our  classifica- 
tion. 


178     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

From  the  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial 
Union: 

^^I  do  not  know  any  detailed  classification  of 
ofl&ce  work  such  as  you  wish.  The  following  gen- 
eral outline  is  used  in  the  Union's  Appointment 
Bureau: 


Stenographer 
Bookkeeper 
Typist 
Filing  Clerk 
Figuring  Clerk 
BilUng  Machine 
Operator 


Adding  Machine  Operator 
Switchboard  Operator 
Longhand  Writer 
Accountant 
Statistical  Clerk/' 


From  the  System  Magazine: 

''We  suggest  the  following  additions  to  the  out- 
line furnished  you  by  the  Appointment  Bureau 
of  Boston: 

Private  Secretary    Comptometer  Operator  (re- 
quires special  training) 
Office  librarian        Keeper      of       Information 

Bureau 
Cashier  Mailing  Clerk 

Addresser    (may    be    carried    in    classification 
'Longhand  Writer') 


We  make  no  attempt  in  the  above  to  be  ex- 


A  Classification  of  Office  Work  179 

haustive,  as  we  have  not  yet  worked  out  to  our  own 
satisfaction  the  very  classification  that  you  desire. 
The  outline  given  you  by  the  Appointment  Bureau 
of  Boston  seems  to  us  to  be  very  good  as  far  as 
it  is  carried  and  we  thank  you  for  sending  it  to  us/' 

Conclusions 

Several  conclusions  may  be  drawn  from  a  study 
of  our  classification  of  office  work.  It  shows  that 
the  demand  for  stenography  greatly  exceeds  that 
for  any  other  kind  of  work;  machine  operation 
comes  second  in  numerical  importance;  bookkeeping 
and  clerical  work  are  next.  Executive  positions, 
demanding  greatest  responsibility  and  department 
clerkships,  not  usually  filled  by  women,  are,  as 
may  be  expected,  in  the  minority.  The  possible 
combinations  of  one  kind  of  work  with  others  are 
indicated.  There  is  apparently  a  much  smaller 
proportionate  demand  for  the  combination  of  book- 
keeping and  stenography  than  the  commercial 
schools  and  the  general  public  have  supposed. 
The  combinations  of  bookkeeping  with  other  kinds 
of  work  are  fewer  than  those  of  stenography.    These 


180     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

deductions  from  a  study  of  our  classification  are 
of  especial  value  to  those  interested  in  conunercial 
education: 

1.  That  stenography  insures  the  best  open- 
ing for  a  girl  entering  office  work.  (Additional 
evidence  is  found  in  a  study  of  Advancement 
in  Chap.  IV,  Part  II.) 

2.  That  it  is  of  far  less  importance  than 
has  heretofore  been  thought,  to  equip  an 
office  worker  with  special  training  in  both 
stenography  and  bookkeeping. 

3.  That  a  significant  proportion  of  positions — 
27% — ^may  be  entered  without  the  traditional 
training  of  either  stenography  or  bookkeeping; 
and  that  such  positions  offer  opportunities  for 
advancement,  if  the  worker  has  a  high  school 
education. 

4.  That  the  great  demand  for  clerical  workers 
points  the  need  for  girls  to  be  generally  cler- 
ically trained  and  to  include  in  their  training 
a  thorough  course  in  filing. 

Our  final  important  deduction,  which  applies 
to  every  line  of  opportunity  in  office  work  for  girls, 
is  the  need  of  training  in  general  office  efficiency, 
already  emphasized  in  discussions  dealing  with 
commercial  training. 


CHAPTER  II 


WOMAN^S   CONQUEST   OF   OFFICE   WORK 


Nowhere  is  the  change  in  woman's  position  bet- 
ter illustrated  than  in  her  conquest  of  office  work. 
It  has  been  swift,  if  one  reflects  that  fifty  years 
ago  the  field  of  office  work  was  almost  entirely  in 
man's  possession.  The  United  States  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor  presents  a  brief  history  of  this 
conquest  in  the  report  of  Miss  Helen  Sumner  pub- 
lished in  1910.  This  statement,  which  is  the  best 
one  known  to  us,  we  quote  as  follows: 

"Even  before  the  invention  of  the  type- 
writer women  were  employed  to  a  certain 
extent  as  copyists.  In  1870,  for  instance, 
they  are  said  to  have  been  employed  in  Wash- 
ington to  copy  speeches  and  other  documents 
for  Members  of  Congress,  and  in  other  cities 
lawyers  employed  them  to  copy  briefs  and 
various  legal  documents.  In  January,  1871, 
a  statement  appeared  in  the  Revolution,  that 
many  lawyers  in  the  city  would  be  willing  to 
give  work  to  competent  women  copying  clerks 
181 


182     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

if  their  orders  could  be  filled  on  short  notice. 
It  was  further  suggested  that  8  or  10  women 
clerks  should  combine  to  rent  an  office  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  city  in  order  to  secure  this 
business.  For  this  work  women  were  paid 
in  some  cases  from  3  to  4  cents  for  every  hun- 
dred words,  and  in  other  cases  from  8  to  31 
cents  a  page. 

'^Though  women  were  said  to  be  sometimes 
employed  to  write  from  dictation  at  a  salary 
of  about  $600  a  year,  their  first  experience 
as  stenographers  appears  to  have  been  in  the 
transcribing  of  notes  taken  by  men.  Thus 
in  1869  the  stenographer  of  the  surrogates' 
court,  New  York,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Revolu- 
tion calling  attention  to  ^phonographic  re- 
porting' as  an  industrial  field  open  to  women 
'in  which  the  pay  is  remimerative,  but  into 
which  they  do  not  seem  much  inclined  to 
enter.'  For  several  months  past,  he  said, 
he  had  had  all  his  shorthand  notes  taken  in 
court  transcribed  by  a  girl,  to  whom  he  had 
paid  the  same  wages  as  to  a  man,  and  who 
had  proved  very  eflBicient. 

''As  long,  indeed,  as  the  use  of  stenographers 
was  confined  to  court  work  and  to  the  reporting 
of  long  pubHc  speeches — work  which  is  still 
generally  done  by  men — women  gained  little 
foothold  in  the  business.  As  industries,  how- 
ever, have  expanded  and  commerce  has  grown, 


Woman^s  Conquest  of  Office  Work  183 

the  tendency  toward  concentration  and  the 
adoption  of  labor-saving  devices  in  trade  as 
well  as  in  manufacture  have  created  a  great 
demand  for  stenographers,  typewriters,  clerks, 
copyists  for  ordinary  business  work — a.  de- 
mand largely  filled  by  girls.  This  demand 
and  supply  have  arisen  practically  within  a 
generation,  and  a  new  and  comparatively 
promising  field  of  employment  has  been  opened 
to  women. 

''Women  clerks  began  to  be  employed  about 
the  same  time  or  even  earlier  than  women 
copyists.  In  1861  they  were  first  employed 
in  the  Treasury  Department  to  clip  or  trim 
the  notes,  which  soon  afterwards  was  done 
by  machinery.  The  women,  however,  re- 
mained, doing  other  kinds  of  work,  and  grad- 
ually their  numbers  increased — ^most  of  the 
new  ones  being,  for  a  time,  war  widows  or 
orphans.  By  1866  they  had  proved  their 
efiiciency,  and  were  recognized  by  act  of  Con- 
gress and  their  salaries  were  fixed  at  $900  per 
year.  Men  clerks  at  that  time  received  from 
$1,200  to  $1,800  a  year.  In  1870,  however, 
Congress  legislated  that  women  clerks  should 
be  graded  like  men  and  should  receive  the 
same  salaries.  As  late  as  1868,  however,  no 
women  were  employed  in  the  Congressional 
Library,  or  in  any  department  except  the 
Treasury,  Post-Office,  and  War. 


184     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

''As  bookkeepers  and  accountants  the  em- 
ployment of  women  was  suggested  as  early 
as  1845,  when  one  of  the  speakers  at  a  meetmg 
held  in  behalf  of  the  working  women  of  New 
York  stated  that  'there  were  hundreds  of  fe- 
males in  this  city  who  were  able  to  keep  the 
books  as  well  as  any  man  in  it/  And  in  1853 
a  writer  in  the  New  York  True  National  Dem- 
ocrat said  that  'as  accountants  and  bookkeep- 
ers, females  would  stand  unrivaled/ 

"It  was  not,  however,  until  the  sixties  that 
women  began  to  gain  a  foothold  in  this  occupa- 
tion, and  then  at  much  lower  salaries  than 
were  paid  to  men.  It  was  said,  for  instance, 
in  1868,  that  when  a  New  York  merchant 
found  himself  in  need  of  a  bookkeeper  he 
employed  a  woman  for  $500  a  year,  whereas 
he  had  paid  her  predecessor,  a  man,  $1,800.  By 
1870  several  women  were  said  to  be  employed 
as  bookkeepers  in  New  York  at  salaries  of 
from  $16  to  $20  a  week.  Another  writer 
added,  however,  that  men  of  the  same  capacity 
and  acquirements  as  these  $16  to  $20  women 
bookkeepers  would  demand  from  $25  to  $40 
per  week. 

"Soon  afterwards  the  increased  demand 
for  stenographers  and  bookkeepers  caused  the 
starting  of  business  schools  where  women 
could  receive  training  for  such  work.  In  1871 
S.  S.  Packard  of  New  York  offered  to  educate 


Woman^s  Conquest  of  Office  Work  185 

50  young  women  free  for  business.  Other 
schools  were  opened  to  women  and  at  first 
gradually,  then  rapidly,  they  entered  this 
new  field  of  employment. 

''In  1870  there  were  reported  to  be  em- 
ployed in  this  group  of  occupations,  including 
'stenographers  and  typewriters,'  'clerks  and 
copyists,'  and  'bookkeepers  and  accountants,' 
only  9,982  women.  In  1880  the  number  in- 
creased to  28,698,  in  1890  to  168,808,  and  in 
1900  to  238,982.  Meanwhile  the  proportion 
which  women  formed  of  the  total  number  of 
persons  engaged  in  these  occupations  rose  from 
3.3  percent  in  1870  to  5.7  percent  in  1880  and 
to  16.9  percent  m  1890.  In  1900,  75.7  per- 
cent of  the  stenographers  and  typewriters,  12.9 
percent  of  the  clerks  and  copyists  and  28.6  per- 
cent of  the  bookkeepers  and  accountants  were 
women." 

The  following  table  taken  from  the  same  report 
shows  briefly  the  increase  in  the  various  branches 
of  office  work,  not  only  of  actual  numbers  of  women 
employed  but  of  the  percentage  of  women  to  men. 


186     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Table  I 

INCREASE   OP  NUMBER  OP  WOMEN  IN   OPPICES 

(Reprint  from  Report  of  Federal  Comm.  of  Labor,  1910) 


1870 

Per- 

1880 

Per- 

1890 

Per- 

1900 

Per- 

Occupations 

Num- 
ber 

cent 

Num- 
ber 

cent 

Num- 
ber 

cent 

Num- 
ber 

cent 

Stenographers   and 

typewriters 

9,982 

3.3 

28,698 

5.7 

168,808 

16.9 

85,086 

75.7 

Clerks  and  copyists. 

<< 

<< 

<< 

(( 

u 

(I 

81,000 

12.9 

Bookkeepers      and 

accountants 

(( 

" 

« 

« 

(t 

u 

72,896 

28.6 

The  findings  of  our  own  study  of  the  field  of  office  i 
work,  1913-14,  show  for  33  different  kinds  of  bus- 
iness in  Cleveland  the  percentage  of  women  to  men. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  how  in  law  work,  real  estate 
and  the  offices  of  doctors  and  dentists,  women  are 
the  only  persons  used  for  office  work.  Whereas  in 
banking  and  accountancy,  the  proportion  of  women 
to  men  is  only  15  and  16  percent  respectively. 
Telegraph,  factory,  printing  and  agency  firms  em- 
ploy about  half  as  many  women  as  men.  In  retail, 
wholesale,  telephone,  addressing  and  circular  com- 
panies, and  public  and  court  stenography  the  office 
employees  are  largely  women. 


Woman^s  Conquest  of  Office  Work  187 
Table  II 

COMPARISON  OP  NUMBERS  OF  WOMEN  AND  MEN  IN  OFFICE  WORK 

(Based  on  Investigation  Records  of  33  Kinds  of  Business) 

Percent  of  Number  of 

Kinds  of  Business             Women  to  Men  Establishments 

Doctor's  Office 100%  3 

Dentist's  Office 100%  3 

Law 100%  8 

Real  Estate 100%  3 

Public  &  Court  Stenography  90%  4 

Addressing 83%  5 

Retail 79%  7 

Wholesale 76%  2     . 

Propaganda 74% 

Missionary  Society 66%  1 

Nat'l  Society  for  Prop- 
aganda   76%  1 

Manufacturing 57%  34 

Agency 50%  1 

Insurance 50%  5 

Printing 50%  5 

Service 44% 

Gas 12%  1 

Electricity 20%  1 

Ice 53%  1 

Telephone 71%  1 

Sales  Office 38% 

Automobile 41%  1 

Oil 34%  2 


188      Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Percent  of  Number  of 

Kinds  of  Business             Women  to  Men    Establishments 

Mercantile  Agency 25%  1 

Furniture 62%  1 

Municipal 35% 

Library 90%  1 

City  Hall 33%  1 

Transportation 25% 

Express 60%  1 

Railroad 23%  2 

Steamship 18%  2 

Telegraph 31%  2 

Accountancy 16%                1 

Banking 15%                5 

A  survey  of  the  present  situation  shows  women 
employed  in  abnost  every  department  of  office 
work.  Some  general  truths  are  clearly  shown  by 
the  classification  in  Chapter  I,  Part  II.  First y  that 
the  majority  of  women  employed  in  offices  are  doing 
stenography,  some  form  of  bookkeeping,  machine 
work,  clerical  work,  or  holding  clerkships;  second, 
that  a  few  women  become  experts  in  certain  direc- 
tions, and  are  used  for  very  special  kinds  of  work. 
Women  are  doing  executive  work  as  the  classifica- 
tion in  Chapter  I  shows,  but  in  this  investigation 
of  133  ojQBces,  only  one  company  was  found  which 


Woman^s  Conquest  of  Office  Work  189 

acknowledged  a  woman  as  officially  an  executive. 
This  is  a  manufacturing  company,  which  enrolls 
a  woman  as  Secretary-Treasurer.  Only  one  large 
bank  in  Cleveland  places  the  work  of  a  teller  in 
the  hands  of  a  woman.  Since  these  establishments 
are  typical,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  definite  lim- 
itation, at  present,  to  the  advance  of  women  in  this 
field.  Two  other  limitations  are,  at  present,  set: 
a  woman  is  prevented  in  Ohio  from  becoming  a 
public  accountant,  no  matter  what  her  success  and 
experience  in  this  field  may  be,  for,  as  yet,  women 
cannot  be  legally  certified  as  public  accountants; 
and  women  cannot  serve  as  notaries,  for  the  same 
reason. 

Women  are  wanted  in  office  work;  their  patience, 
conscientiousness  and  devotion  make  them  valuable 
to  an  employer.  In  many  departments  experience 
has  proved  that  feminine  characteristics  of  mind 
and  temperament  are  pecuHarly  suited  to  the  work 
required.  This  is  true,  as  has  already  been  said,  of 
machine  work,  if  one  looks  first  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  scale;  and,  also,  of  the  details  of  counting, 
sorting  and  checking,   where  deftness,   speed  and 


190     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

accuracy  are  required.  At  the  other  end  of  the  scale, 
although,  as  yet,  women  are  not  enrolled  as  company 
officials,  there  is  one  field  for  which  they  seem  to 
be  especially  chosen.  This  is  the  department  of 
employment  and  personal  supervision;  or,  as  it  is 
now  often  termed,  the  service  department  in  large 
factories  and  stores.  Woman^s  gift  of  intuition, 
the  dehcacy  of  her  perception,  and  her  sympathy 
are  characteristics  that  make  her  successful  in 
analyzing  the  applicant  for  work,  and  in  selecting 
good  material.  That  this  executive  position  may 
be  advancement  from  office  work  is  illustrated  by 
the  experience  of  a  girl,  who  was  a  stenographer 
in  a  large  manufacturing  company  in  Cleveland^ 
and  who  was  recently  chosen  for  the  employment 
department  as  an  analyst  of  applicants.  The 
following  is  a  list  of  the  highest  positions  open  to 
women  in  Cleveland,  sorted  out  from  the  classifica- 
tion presented  in  Chapter  I.  It  is  based  on  con- 
siderations of  salary  and  responsibiUty.  Informa- 
tion about  salaries,  while  incomplete,  is  sufficient 
to  indicate  highest  amounts  paid  in  almost  every 
kind  of  position. 


Woman^s  Conquest  of  Office  Work  191 

HIGHEST  POSITIONS  HELD   BY  WOMEN 

(Salaries  $65  a  month  and  over) 

No.  Pod'      Max.  Mo. 
Kind  of  Work  lions  Recorded     Salary 

I.  Managing 60 

Ofl&ce  Manager 7 

Dept.       "        6  $180 

Executive 13 

Executive  Secretary 1  $160 

Supervision  and  Employment .  14  $120 

Supervision 9 

II.  Special 15 

Copy-writing 9 

Proof-reading 5 

Research 1 

III.  Stenography 34 

Management  of  Stenog.  Bureau  5 

Court  Stenographer 1 

Private  Secretary 6                    $100 

Correspondence 2 

Head  Stenographer 3                     $100 

Expert  Stenographer 16                     $125 

Stenog.  and  Statistical 1                     $  80 

IV.  Bookkeeping 33 

Teller 1 

Treas.  &  Sec.  of  Co 1 

Asst.  Treasurer 3 

Expert  Auditing 2 

Expert  Cashier  Work 12  $100 


192      Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Kind  of  Work  No.  Posi-      Max.  Mo. 
Bookkeeping — Continued            tions  Recorded       Salary 

Head  Bookkeeper 6                    $120 

Asst.          " 3 

Cashier  and  Bookkeeper 1                      $76 

Expert  Accounting 1 

Statistician 1 

Statistical 2 

V.  Department  Clerks 11 

Accident  Claim  Clerk 1 

Application            "    1                      $95 

Endorsement          "    1 

File                        "    2 

Order                     "    1                      $90 

Mail                       "    1 

Stock                      "    1 

Unclassified            "    1 

Pay  Roll                "    2 

VI.  Clerical  Work 3 

Information  Bureau 1                     $100 

Filing 1 

Charge  of  Library 1 

VII.  Machine  Work 6 

Policy  Writer 2                      $65 

Expert  Typing 1 

Dictaphone 1                       $65 

Expert  Billing 1                      $70 

Expert  Comptometer 1 


Woman's  Conquest  of  Office  Work  193 

The  above  list  is  supplemented  by  the  following 
Ust  of  unusual  positions  held  by  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Cleveland  Women^s  Association  of 
Commerce.  The  very  existence  of  this  club  of  suc- 
cessful business  and  professional  women  and  its 
status  in  the  community  is  an  evidence  of  the 
recognition  of  woman's  conquest  of  the  field  of 
office  work,  not  only  on  the  part  of  the  women 
themselves,  but  also,  on  the  part  of  the  general 
public. 


Positions  held  by  Members  of  the  Women^s  Associa- 
tion of  Commerce 

I.  Managing. 

Office  Manager. 

Asst.  Manager  of  Typewriter  Office. 
Manager  and  Proprietor  of  Business  House. 
"        of  Summer  Hotel. 
"  Turkish  Baths. 
Charge  of  Abstract  Dept.  in   Abstract  Co. 
''      "  Art  ''      "  Factory. 

"      "  Book-binding  in  Printing  Co. 
Executive  Secretary. 

Supervisor     and     Director     of     Employ- 
ment. 
Service  Dept.  Head. 


194      Commercial  Work  and  Training  fm-  Girls 

II.  Special. 

Agent  for  Bonds  in  Broker's  Firm. 
Insurance  Agent. 

Educational  Work  in  Retail  Store. 
Person  in  Charge  of  Fashion  Models  and 

Lecturing. 
Teacher    in    Business    School    and    Part 

Owner  of  School. 
Library  and  Service  Dept.  Assistant. 
Copywriter. 
Advertising  Dept.  in  Newspaper — Assistant. 

''      ''  Rubber  Co.—      " 
Analyzer   of   Applicants   in   Employment 

Dept.  of  Factory. 
Secretarial  and  Laboratory  Work  in  City 

Chemist's  Office. 
Artist  in  Photographic  Dept.  of  Factory. 
Expert     on     '' Science     of     Approaching 

People.'' 
Editor  of  Medical  Journal. 

III.  Stenography. 

Manager-Owner  of  PubKc  Office  Service 

Bureau. 
Court  Stenographer. 
Convention  Reporter. 
Private  Secretary. 
Physician's  Private  Secretary  and  Person 

in  Charge  of  Prescriptions. 
Library  and  Personal  Private  Secretary. 


Woman's  Conquest  of  Office  Work  195 

Stenography — Continued 

Stenographer  and  Translator. 
Stenotype  Demonstrator. 
Secretary  for  Cemeteries  of  City. 

rV.  Bookkeeping. 

Head  Cashier. 

Cashier. 

Accoimtant. 

Assistant  to  Purchasing  Dept, 

Bookkeeper  in  University  Office. 

V.  Dept.  Clerks. 

Clerk  in  City  Hall. 

VI.  Clerical  Work. 

Person  in  Charge  of  Library  in  a  Factory. 

VII.  General  Office  Work. 

Information  Clerk  in  Bank. 

The  classification  in  Chapter  I  covers  every 
office  position  hsted  here,  except  the  following  fom*: 
1.  Teacher  in  Business  School  and  Part  Owner 
of  School.  2.  Convention  Reporter.  3.  Stenotype 
Demonstrator.  4.  Manager  and  Proprietor  of  Bus- 
iness House.  Eight  special  positions,  which  are 
not  in  themselves  office  work,  but  which  were  in 


196     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

these  cases  reached  through  office  work,  are  also 
not  included  m  the  classification. 

Boston  and  New  York  each  have  contributions 
to  offer  in  a  study  of  advanced  business  oppor- 
tunities for  women. 

In  the  book  entitled  '^  Vocations  for  the  Trained 
Woman"  issued  by  the  Women's  Educational  and 
Industrial  Union  of  Boston,  in  1910,  two  chapters 
are  devoted  to  a  study  of  business  openings  for 
women.  These  positions  are  fully  discussed  in 
relation  to  the  work  involved,  salary,  necessary 
qualifications  and  training,  and  are  presented  in 
the  order  here  given: 

Business 

Advertising 

Work  in  Department  Stores 

Buying  in  Department  Stores 

Banking 

Real  Estate 

Insurance 

Clerical  and  Secretarial  Work 
Clerical  and  Secretarial  Work 
Private  Secretary  Work 
Secretary  Work  in  the  Business  Office. 


Woman^s  Conquest  of  Office  Work  197 

The  1913  report  of  the  Intercollegiate  Bureau 
of  Occupations  of  New  York  City  offers  a  table, 
which  '4s  designed  to  show  the  many  and  varied 
fields  of  employment  in  which  each  type  of  special 
training  is  in  demand.'^  Out  of  38  positions  listed 
in  the  table,  13  may  be  considered  definitely  office 
work.  The  order  of  the  original  table,  which  was 
based  on  number  6i  calls  from  employers, — the 
workers  in  greatest  demand  being  set  at  the  head 
of  the  fist — has  been  preserved  here. 

Stenographers-Secretaries 

Clerks,  Proof-readers,  Office  Assistants 

Bookkeepers 

Statisticians,  Statistical  Clerks 

Pubhcity  and  Financial  Secretaries 

Executive  Secretaries 

Executive  Managers 

Social  Secretaries 

Partners-Managers 

Welfare-workers 

Interpreters,  Translators 

Managers  of  Employment  Agencies 

Comptrollers-Treasurers. 

Conclusion 
The  trend  for  the  future  is  a  fascinating  theme, 


198     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

but  it  is  only  significant  to  prophesy  on  the  basis 
of  fact  with  no  intermixture  of  what  one  hopes 
may  be  true.  In  looking  forward  to  the  varieties 
of  office  work,  which  will  eventually  be  opened  to 
women,  one  need  only  judge  what  is  to  come  by 
/^what  actually  exists  at  present.  There  is  prac- 
tically no  division  of  this  occupation  where  one 
may  not  find  a  woman  making  good.  It  is  obviously 
true  that  women  in  offices  now  are  doing  most  of 
the  subordinate  and  mechanical  work  while  men 
hold  the  majority  of  responsible,  executive  and 
highly  paid  positions.  But  there  is  plenty  of  evi- 
dence that  prejudice  against  women  per  se  is  giving 
way  before  the  advance  of  efficient  professional 
women  who  are  making  success  in  the  field,  their 
goal.  A  few  women  who  climb  to  responsible  posi- 
tions win  the  confidence  of  men  for  the  whole  sex 
and  point  the  way  to  their  younger  sisters  at  the 
foot  of  the  ladder. 

Women  are  getting  a  chance  to  show  abihty  as 
promoters  and  organizers  through  social  work. 
These  positions  of  responsibiUty  in  social  work 
axe  not  reached  by  way  of  office  work,  nor  are  they 


Woman's  Conquest  of  Office  Work  199 

stepping-stones  to  office  work  for  the  individual; 
but  the  freedom  women  have  in  them  for  showing 
what  they  can  do,  may,  before  long,  cause  bus- 
iness men  to  recognize  in  women  persons  able  to 
be  trusted  with  the  responsible,  executive  work 
of  their  business. 

It  seems  probable  that  in  the  future  no  bars  will 
be  set,  in  progressive  offices,  against  the  steady 
upward  advance  of  women  to  executive  and  unusual 
positions.  They  will  probably  meet  no  opposition 
on  accoimt  of  their  sex  and  the  terms  of  their  making 
good  will  be  the  same  as  those  held  out  to  men. 
The  principle  of  equal  pay  for  equal  work,  regard- 
less of  sex,  has  already  been  sufficiently  demonstrated 
to  show  that  in  the  future  it  will  be  established  as 
women  become,  on  the  one  hand,  more  and  more 
determined  to  offer  the  qualifications,  training 
and  professional  spirit  needed  in  the  business  world 
and,  on  the  other,  to  secure  justice  for  themselves. 
Prejudice  against  entrusting  women  with  big  things 
is  active  today,  because  women  are  young  in  this 
field  and  possess  the  faults  of  youth.  But  the 
tone  of  unfavorable  masculine  comment  is  changing 


200     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

from  ^^ Women  can't  do  this  sort  of  work"  to  ''That 
woman  hasn't  the  abiUty  for  this  job,"  because 
there  is  a  definite  image  in  the  foreground  of  the 
critic's  mind  of  another  woman  who  has  the  abiUty, 
and  who  is  making  good  in  a  job  of  the  same  sort. 
As  women  acquire  stabihty  and  professional  tech- 
nique, they  will  be  taken  more  and  more  seriously 
by  business.  As  a  matter  of  course  they  will  be 
placed  in  line  for  the  highest  positions  as  they  prove 
eminently  successful. 

The  trend  for  the  future  in  office  work  for  women 
is  in  the  direction  of  a  higher  degree  of  unbiased 
justice  toward  her  work  resulting  in  a  wider  range 
of  opportunity  for  her  to  enter  unusual  and  exec- 
utive positions  in  business. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   INVASION  OF  THE  MACHINE 

No  survey  of  office  work  would  be  complete 
unless  due  attention,  were  given  to  the  invasion  of 
mechanical,  labor-saving  devices.  Just  as  in  in- 
dustry, hand-weaving  and  sewing  were  replaced 
by  the  electric  loom  and  power  machine,  so  in  office 
work  many  of  the  old  methods  dependent  upon  the 
pen  and  pencil  have  been  replaced  by  machines. 
For  years  the  typewriter  was  practically  the  only 
machine  in  the  office,  but  now  many  machines 
are  replacing  numbers  of  processes  that  have  been 
for  centuries  laboriously  worked  out  by  hand  and 
brain.  Otherwise,  the  detail  of  correspondence, 
bookkeeping,  and  statistical  work  could  never  have 
kept  pace  with  the  tremendous  increase  of  produc- 
tion and  commerce. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  machines  used  in  many 
Cleveland  offices  and  compiled  from  records  ob- 
tained in  our  study  of  the  field  of  office  work.    The 

201 


202     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

machines  are  grouped  on  the  basis  of  training  re- 
quirements. Those  not  requiring  training  need 
but  a  few  brief  instructions  as  to  the  mode  of  opera- 
tion. For  those  which  do  require  training,  only  a 
hmited  amount  of  instruction  and  practice  is  nec- 
essary except  in  the  case  of  the  typewriter,  which 
is  the  machine  auxiUary  also  for  the  phonograph 
and  the  shorthand  dictation  machines. 

Machines  Requiring  no  Machines  Requiring 

Training  Training 

Adding  Machines  Comptometer    &    Other 

Addressing  Machines  Calculating  Mchs. 

Cash  Registers  Billing  Machines 

Duplicating  Machines  Bookkeeping   Machines 

Envelope      Sealing      &  Phonograph      Dictation 
Stamping  Mchs.  Machines 

Envelope   Opening   Ma-  Shorthand  Dictation  Ma- 
chines chines 

Holerieth        Tabulating  Printing  Machines 

Machine  Typewriters 

Pneumatic  Tubes 

Telautograph 

Time  Recording  Machines 

A  brief  description  of  the  unusual  machines  hsted 
is  necessary  for  comprehension  of  this  discussion 
on  the  part  of  those  not  famihar  with  the  equip- 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  203 

ment  of  a  modem  office.  Cash  registers,  type- 
writers, and  pneumatic  carrier  tubes  are  familiar, 
presumably,  to  everybody. 

Adding  Machine 

This  is  a  device  for  rapid  addition.  It  is  worked 
by  a  keyboard  of  numbers  from  one  to  one  hundred 
thousand,  arranged  in  colimms — dollars,  cents,  tens, 
hundreds,  thousands.  As  the  keys  are  punched, 
nimabers  are  printed  on  a  strip  of  paper  which  is 
rolled  off  at  the  back  of  the  machine;  and,  by  punch- 
ing the  key  marked  total,  the  sum  of  the  numbers 
can  be  secured. 

Addressing  Machine 

This  is  a  machine  for  printing  addresses  from 
metal,  rubber  or  wax  plates.  When  addressing  is 
to  be  done,  the  plates,  previously  arranged  in  al- 
phabetical order,  are  placed  in  the  machine  and  are 
fed  automatically  to  the  printing  plate  upon  which 
is  placed  the  envelope  or  card  to  be  imprinted; 
after  imprinting,  they  drop  into  a  receiving  drawer 
in  the  order  of  their  original  arrangement.  The 
metal  plates  for  these  machines  are  made  by  a 


204     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

special  device  called  the  graphotype;  the  settings 
of  rubber  type  and  wax  stencils  are  made  on  the 
typewriter. 

Comptometer 

This  machine,  like  the  adding  machine,  is  a  device 
for  making  calculations  rapidly.  It  can  multiply, 
divide,  add,  and  subtract,  if  the  operator  punches 
the  proper  keys.  It  has  a  large  keyboard  containing 
only  numbers.  This  machine  does  not  print  the 
calculations,  which  are  merely  registered  on  a  little 
disc.  The  operator  must  copy  off  the  results. 
The  efficiency  of  this  machine  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  comment  of  one  employer  who  uses  it.  He 
said  his  company  introduced  the  machine  at  a  time 
when  they  needed  more  service.  They  secured 
three  comptometer  machines  with  three  operators, 
and  these  girls  replace  the  work  of  two  expert 
clerks  who  would  have  to  be  paid  twice  the  salary, 
and  who  would  even  then  accomplish  less. 

Elliott  Fisher  Biller 

This  machine  has  a  keyboard  like  the  type- 
writer, but  contains  keys  for  ruling  paper  and  many 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  205 

more  number  keys  than  the  typewriter.  It  is  built 
for  large  ledger  sheets  of  paper,  and  the  carriage 
is  run  back  and  forth  on  rubber  wheels  along  grooves. 
An  electric  bulb  at  the  back  of  the  machine  makes 
it  possible  for  the  operator  to  read  the  results  on 
the  paper  as  she  writes.  This  machine  is  efficient 
in  the  same  ratio  as  the  typewriter,  the  great  gain 
being  the  exactness  and  neatness  of  the  invoices 
billed  on  it. 

A  new  kind  of  billing  machine  is  run  by  an  elec- 
tric motor  and  is  built  like  a  large  double-decker 
typewriter  with  a  keyboard.  The  operator  places 
the  page,  spaces  the  material  properly,  copies 
numbers  accurately  by  pressing  the  right  keys,  and 
the  machine  does  all  the  calculating.  It  can  find 
instantly,  with  the  pressure  of  the  proper  levers 
or  keys,  the  percentage  of  any  numbers  desired, 
add  the  totals  of  columns,  multiply,  subtract  and 
divide.  The  operator  has  no  shoving  or  pulUng  to 
do,  as  in  the  case  of  the  other  bilHng  machine,  but 
simply  uses  the  keyboard  as  a  typist  would  do. 
An  operator  who  had  used  three  different  kinds  of 
billers  considers  this  machine  more  efficient  than  any 


206     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

other.  The  same  amount  of  billing  can  be  done  as 
with  other  machines;  and,  also,  the  calculations  are 
made  which  cover  all  the  work  of  a  figuring  clerk. 

Elliott  Fisher  Bookkeeping  Machine 

This  machine  makes  entries  in  ledgers  and  at 
the  same  time  prepares  a  statement  to  be  sent  to 
the  debtor.  Proof  of  the  accuracy  is  obtained  by 
an  adding  or  subtracting  device  which  accumulates 
the  items  as  they  are  entered  to  the  different  ac- 
counts. The  operation  is  similar  to  that  of  type- 
writing. This  is  a  machine  which  is  adaptable 
even  to  places  only  moderately  large.  Its  chief 
advantages  are  its  ability  to  prove  accuracy  and  its 
gain  in  speed.  The  operators,  called  posting  clerks, 
attain  an  average  of  nine  hundred  postings  a  day, 
apiece,  with  results  proven. 

Envelope-Opening  Machine 

Letters  are  carried  along  a  guide,  slit  by  a  circular 
knife,  and  then  pushed  out  into  a  basket.  The 
machine  is  run  by  electricity.  One  employer  who 
used  it  said  that  before  the  machine  was  introduced, 
it  took  one  or  two  girls  half  a  day  to  open  the  mail. 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  207 

With  the  machine,  one  girl  can  open  it  in  two 
hours. 


Holerieth  Tabulating  Machine 

This  machine  is  designed  for  the  compiling  of 
statistics  for  any  purpose  and  is  especially  useful 
in  accounting  work.  The  equipment  consists  of 
three  machines:  the  card-punching  device,  a  sorting 
machine  and  an  accounting  machine,  the  last  two 
being  operated  by  electricity.  The  number  of 
operators  required  depends  on  the  number  of  cards 
to  be  punched.  A  fair  average  output  is  1500  cards 
a  day  for  one  operator.  Most  of  the  statistical 
information  in  a  given  company  can  be  expressed 
in  terms  of  numbers  from  1  to  10  or,  in  other  words, 
it  can  be  '^  coded.''  The  original  papers,  prepared 
with  the  information,  are  put  in  the  hands  of  the 
card-punching  girls  who  are  to  punch  holes  in  the 
cards  according  to  the  statistics  desired.  The  girl 
has  a  small  machine  on  the  table  before  her,  flat  and 
about  as  big  as  her  hand.  It  has  a  keyboard  with 
figures  on  the  keys  irregularly  arranged.  The 
figures  and  coded  information  to  be  used  in  com- 


208     Commercial  Work  and  Training  far  Girls 

pilation  of  statistics  are  punched  on  cards  which 
contain  columns  of  numbers, — each  field  of  niunbers 
representing  some  particular  set  of  information. 
The  operator  manipulates  the  punching  machine 
with  the  right  hand  and  with  great  rapidity,  and 
turns  over,  with  the  left,  the  papers  from  which 
she  is  copying.  These  punched  cards  are  then  put 
in  a  sorting  machine  which  sorts  the  cards  according 
to  kinds.  The  piles  of  assorted  cards  are  then  run 
through  the  counting  machine  which  accumulates 
the  totals,  the  results  appearing  on  a  httle  disc  on 
the  front  of  the  machine.  All  the  mental  calculation 
required  of  the  operator  is  practically  reduced  to 
accurate  copjdng  from  the  original  papers  to  cards, 
and  to  taking  the  total  from  the  disc  on  the  count- 
ing machine.  The  efficiency  of  the  machine  is  al- 
most limitless  and  saves  hours  of  the  most  tiresome 
calculation  on  the  part  of  expert  mathematicians. 
The  machine  can  be  operated  by  girls  capable  of 
ordinarily  intelUgent  work. 

Multigraph 
The  multigraph  is  a  dupHcating  machine,  and 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  209 

consists  of  two  parts — the  compotj^e,  on  which 
the  copy  is  set  up,  and  the  printer  which  imprints 
it.  The  compotype — a  machine  about  a  yard  in 
length  and  two  feet  high, — stands  on  a  table,  at 
which  the  operator  sits.  The  compotype  contains 
two  parallel,  revolving  drums,  each  turned  by  hand. 
One  drum  carries  the  supply  of  type;  and  on  the 
other  drum,  the  operator  sets  up  the  copy  in  the 
form  in  which  it  is  to  be  printed. 

The  principle  of  setting  copy  is  shifting  the  type 
from  the  supply  drum  to  the  other.  The  operator, 
by  a  lever  directly  in  front  of  her,  causes  a  metal 
arrow  to  move  along  a  bar  containing  the  letters  of 
the  alphabet  until  the  desired  letter  is  reached. 
As  each  word  is  spelled  out,  letter  by  letter,  the 
corresponding  type  and  the  blanks  for  the  spaces 
between  words  travel  slowly  across  the  channel 
from  the  supply  drum  to  the  other,  on  which  the 
spacing  and  margin  have  been  carefully  fixed  be- 
forehand. It  takes  about  three  months  for  a  girl 
to  reach  the  required  skill,  which  enables  her  to 
set  a  line  in  two  minutes. 

The  printing  machine  is  worked  much  like  a 


210     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

mimeograph,  but  is  nm  by  an  electric  motor.  A 
large  roll  of  printing  ribbon  is  placed  over  the  en- 
tire drum  on  which  the  copy  is  set  up.  As  the 
drum  revolves  the  paper  is  fed  into  the  machine, 
at  the  rate  of  one  sheet  for  every  revolution.  The 
output  of  this  part  of  the  multigraph  is  about  4800 
sheets  an  hour.  A  printing  attachment  is  also  fixed  to 
the  printing  machine  which  prints  from  type,  just 
as  a  printing  press  does.  Ink  is  used  directly  on 
the  type,  instead  of  the  roll  of  ribbon.  The  flow 
of  ink  is  regulated  by  taps.  The  printing  attach- 
ment is  used  for  such  work  as  the  composition  of 
letter  heads;  but  for  ordinary  advertising  matter, 
the  ribbon  is  used.  The  efficiency  of  this  machine 
is  very  great  and  the  clearness  and  exactness  of  the 
imprints  make  it  superior,  in  the  opinion  of  experts, 
to  other  dupUcating  devices. 

Phonograph  Dictation  Machine 

This  machine  is  on  the  principle  of  any  phono- 
graph. The  dictator  talks  through  a  tube,  and 
the  sound  is  recorded  on  the  disc  which  revolves 
as  he  talks.    The  disc  or  records  are  then  transferred 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  211 

to  the  operator's  machine.  The  dictation  is  trans- 
mitted to  the  operator  through  Httle  tubes  which 
are  adjusted  to  her  ears  by  means  of  a  metal  band 
fastened  around  her  head.  She  stops  and  starts 
the  machine  with  a  pedal  which  she  works  with  her 
foot.  She  can  make  the  machine  go  fast  or  slow  at 
will.  One  employer  speaking  of  the  efficiency  of 
this  machine  said  that  it  is  at  least  forty  or  fifty 
percent  more  efficient  than  stenography,  since  it 
saves  the  time  of  taking  dictation.  The  dictaphone 
was  introduced  into  the  company  not  in  order  to 
replace  stenographers,  but  in  order  to  take  care 
of  the  sudden  increase  of  the  volume  of  work  in 
the  business;  and,  after  the  dictaphones  were  thor- 
oughly adapted  to  this  use,  they  just  kept  up  with 
the  increased  work  easily.  Another  employer 
stated  that  three  dictaphone  operators  replace  six 
good  stenographers.  Most  of  the  large  railroad 
and  trust  offices  use  the  dictaphone. 

The  Stenotype 

The  stenotype  is  a  dictation  machine  and  is  sim- 
ilar in  appearance  to  a  typewriter  except  that  there 


212     Commercial  Work  and  Training  far  Girls 

are  fewer  keys  on  it.  The  machine  is  fed  by  a  roll 
of  paper  which  is  pushed  forward  automatically 
at  each  stroke  of  the  keys.  Three  or  four  words 
may  be  written  at  one  stroke,  and  in  this  way  great 
speed  may  be  attained.  With  regard  to  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  machine,  the  supervisor  of  the  sten- 
otype  department  in  one  of  the  business  schools  in 
Cleveland  stated  that  the  greatest  advantage  of  this 
machine  over  stenography  is  its  accuracy.  The  ac- 
tual speed  is  about  the  same  as  that  of  a  fast  ste- 
nographer but  the  practical  use  of  it  shows  a  great 
increase  in  speed  because  the  operator  has  no  dif- 
ficulty in  readily  reading  her  notes.  The  standard- 
ization of  the  notes  is  such  that  anyone  familiar  with 
the  symbols  used  on  the  machine  can  transcribe 
them.  This  is  a  great  advantage,  and  means  a  gain 
in  speed  in  large  offices,  for  as  fast  as  the  stenotypist 
takes  letters  her  notes  may  be  distributed  to  typists 
so  that  when  the  dictation  is  finished  most  of  the 
letters  may  be  all  ready  to  be  signed  and  mailed. 

The  Telautograph, 
The  telautograph  is  a  tactful  little  instrument, 


1 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  213 

used  in  credit  departments  in  large  stores  and  in 
banks,  by  which  a  customer's  credit  is  estabhshed 
with  no  embarrassment  to  him.  The  telautograph 
instrument  is  fastened  on  the  wall  and  is  very  like 
an  ordinary  pad  with  pencil  attached.  First  the 
clerk  whose  duty  it  is  to  determine  the  customer's 
credit,  pushes  a  button  which  rings  a  bell  in  the 
credit  department;  then  he  picks  up  the  pencil  and 
writes  on  the  pad  a  question  concerning  the  credit 
of  the  customer.  The  writing  appears  simulta- 
neously on  his  own  pad  and  on  the  pad  in  the  credit 
ofl&ce.  The  standing  of  the  individual  is  looked  up 
in  the  files  and  the  report  written  on  the  pad  in  the 
credit  office  appears  at  the  same  time  on  the  pad 
of  the  clerk  who  wrote  the  question.  The  clerk, 
though  standing  within  a  short  distance  of  the  cus- 
tomer, has  transacted  this  business  without  the 
possibiUty  of  being  heard. 

Six  of  the  machines  listed  as  requiring  training,  at 
the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  appear  in  the  table  fol- 
lowing, where  a  summary  is  given  of  the  opportimities 
for  machine  training,  in  Cleveland.  (Training  for  the 
typewriter  is  listed  in  Table  III,  Chapter  III,  Part  I.) 


214     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 


TBAININQ   FOR   MACHINE   WOBE 


Preparation  Schools   or 
Name  of      Required        Firms 
Machine    Previous  to  Providing 
Training     Training 


Time  Required     Usual   Usual  v.i 

Hours      Tuition  No.  of   Provision  for 
Period      Per         (Total   Pupils       Placement 
Day  Cost)  at  a  time 


Comp-     8th  Grade  Comp-  2     mos. 

tometer.  or  Partial  tometer  to       10 

High  Co.  weeks. 

School. 


6 


EUiott      8th  Grade.  Elliott  1J4 

Fisher  Fisher  months 

Biller.  Billing  to         6 

Co.  weeks. 

Elliott      2  or  3  yrs.  Elliott        2    or    3 

Fisher      experience  Fisher        weeks. 

Book-      on    E.    F.  Billing 

keeping    Biller.  Co. 

Machine. 

Multi-      8th  Grade.  American  1  mo.  or 

graph.  Multi-        6  weeks, 

graph 
Sales  Co. 


Phono-     Typewrit-  Columbia  1    week 
graph       ing       and  Dicta- 
Dicta-      Business      phone  Co., 
tion  experience.  &  Edison  1    week 

Machine.  Co. 


$15 


Steno-      Same  as 
type         Short- 
hand 


High  2   years 

School  of 
Comm., 
Dyke         7 
School, 
Metropol- 
itan, 
Spencerian 


$40    6-7     Great  effort 
made.  Good 
operators 
not     idle. 
Girls  trained 
according  to 
demand. 
$26      6       No    system. 
Employers' 
calls    filled 
from  list  of 
students. 
Place    prac- 
tically      all 
students.     2 
or  3  on  wait- 
ing list. 

0  2-3  Some  effort 
made.  Girls 
accepted  for 
training  ac- 
cording to 
demand. 

0  3  No  system. 
No  guaran- 
tee; students 
placed  ac- 
cording to 
list  as  em- 
ployers call. 
Effort  made 
according  to 
the  usual 
mos.  5  *  $80  35  system  of 
school. 


73^ 


0      1 


0      2 


*  $60    10 

*  $117     76 


*  In  addition  to  this  tuition  cost,  students  must  purchase  their  own 
Btenotype  machines  at  a  cost  of  $100. 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  215 

The  extent  to  which  machines  are  used  in  bus- 
iness varies  with  the  kind  of  estabUshment,  the 
only  omnipresent  machine  being  the  typewriter. 
The  small  office,  such  as  the  lawyer  or  doctor  would 
maintain,  employing  one  girl,  has  usually  only  a 
typewriter.  The  office  where  as  many  as  three 
girls  work,  may  have  a  billing  machine  in  addition 
to  the  typewriter,  or  perhaps  only  a  wide-carriage 
typewriter  for  invoicing.  Banks  use  a  number 
of  comptometers  and  adding  machines  and,  pro- 
portionately, few  typewriters.  A  typical  bank  in 
Cleveland  has  30  adding  machines  and  14  type- 
writers. Some  large  offices  are  equipped  with  as 
many  as  6  or  7  different  machines;  others  have 
only  one  or  two  kinds,  though  many  machines  of 
each  kind.  One  company  confines  its  use  of  ma- 
chines to  billing  typewriters  and  dictation  machines 
of  which  latter  there  are  20;  another  uses  10  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  machines;  still  another  uses  four 
different  kinds,  including  40  dictating  machines. 
An  expert  on  office  machines,  who  is  in  touch  with 
their  use  in  Cleveland,  stated  that  about  40  local 
firms  are  using  the  bookkeeping  machine.     Only 


216     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

the  largest  firms  use  the  statistical  machine.  This 
investigation  found  that  5  firms,  including  two  rail- 
road companies,  a  wholesale  house,  a  factory,  and 
an  electric  fight  company,  are  using  this  elaborate 
piece  of  mechanism.  The  large  retail  firms  have  J 
typewriters,  comptometers,  adding  and  billing  ma- 
chines. Various  kinds  of  dupficating  devices,  mim- 
eograph, letterpress,  manifolder,  etc.  are  used  in 
every  kind  of  office.  The  multigraph  is  less  exten- 
sively used,  but  is  found  in  most  of  the  offices  of 
the  addressing  companies.  The  addressing  ma- 
chines are  useful  only  to  companies  with  a  large 
regular  mailing  fist,  and  were  found  by  this  inves- 
tigation in  the  offices  of  five  large  estabfishments, 
a  retail  house,  a  wholesale  company,  a  gas  com- 
pany, a  bank,  and  a  manufacturing  firm. 

When  machines  were  first  introduced  into  in- 
dustry, as  all  the  world  knows,  great  hardship  was 
experienced  by  hand-workers;  hundreds  of  people 
were  thrown  out  of  employment,  and  such  bitter- 
ness was  felt  that  riots  occurred  in  factory  centers 
and  the  machines,  which  the  workers  considered 
their  enemies,  were  wrecked  by  the  angry  men. 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  217 

No  such  situation  occurred  on  the  introduction  of 
machines  into  office  work.  The  evidence  seems 
to  be  that  they  have  been  introduced  gradually 
during  the  last  ten  years  in  an  attempt  to  cope  with 
the  ever-increasing  volume  of  office  work.  The 
office  staff  was  kept  quite  or  almost  intact  and  either 
new  people  were  employed  to  operate  the  machines, 
or  the  employees  already  at  work  were  taught  to 
operate  them  in  order  to  increase  their  original 
output. 

Displacement  of  workers  by  the  introduction  of 
machines  in  offices  appears  up  to  this  time  to  be 
indirect.  Employers  interviewed  say  their  clerks 
were  not  put  out  of  positions  thereby,  but  the  use 
of  machines  is  preventing  the  firms  from  taking 
into  their  employ  high  priced  statisticians  and 
bookkeepers,  and  is  decreasing  the  number  of  new 
office  workers  needed.  With  the  increased  adop- 
tion of  office  machines  goes  the  demand  for  skilled 
operators,  well  paid,  but  far  cheaper  and  easier 
to  secure  than  highly  trained  bookkeepers  and  clerks 
skilled  in  rapid  mental  calculation.  It  is  this  ad- 
vanced mental  equipment  that  is  no  longer  much 


218     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

in  demand,  and  those  who  possess  it  will  be  dis- 
placed in  the  future  by  operators  on  the  efficient 
machines,  easy  to  understand,  accurate  in  result, 
and  capable  of  a  large  product  of  correspondence, 
statistics  and  bookkeeping. 

The  qualifications  of  machine  workers  in  offices 
include  knowledge  of  the  machine,  accuracy  and 
deftness  of  manipulation.  Except  for  the  six  ma- 
chines requiring  training,  the  use  of  machines  in 
offices  does  not  necessitate  a  very  broad  general 
education.  Keen  natural  intelligence,  abihty  to 
calculate  small  amounts  quickly,  and  steady  nerves, 
are  the  essentials  for  this  kind  of  work. 

That  here,  as  in  other  phases  of  office  work,  care- 
ful choice  must  be  made  of  the  worker,  is  the  often 
emphasized  idea  of  Professor  Miinsterberg  in  his 
book  "Psychology  and  Industrial  Efficiency."  In 
describing  the  work  done  on  the  pay-roll  in  a  certain 
company,  he  says:  "A  good  sorter  will  turn  up  sUps 
so  rapidly  that  the  bystander  is  imable  to  read  a 
single  figure,  and  yet  she  will  not  overlook  one  error 
in  thousands  of  shps.  After  the  sUps  are  sorted, 
the  operation  of  obtaining  the  totals  on  each  order 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  219 

number  is  performed  with  the  aid  of  an  adding 
machine.  The  machine  operator  rolls  up  the  shps 
of  the  pile  with  the  thumb  of  her  left  hand  and 
transfers  the  amoimt  to  the  proper  keys  of  the  ma- 
chine. It  has  been  found  that  the  most  rapid  and 
accurate  girls  at  sorting  are  not  seldom  useless  on 
the  machines.  They  press  the  wrong  keys  and 
make  errors  in  copying  the  total  from  the  machine 
indicators  to  the  file-card.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  of  the  best  machine  operators  are  very  slow 
and  inaccurate  at  the  sorting  table.  Girls  have  been 
found  very  poor  at  the  work  at  which  they  were 
first  set,  and  very  successful  and  efficient  as  soon 
as  they  had  been  transferred  from  the  one  to  the 
other.  Examples  of  this  kind  might  be  heaped 
up  without  end.  Successful  achievement  depends 
upon  personal  mental  traits  which  cannot  be  ac- 
quired by  mere  goodwill  and  training." 

The  physical  effect  of  office  machines  is  a  serious 
consideration  which  cannot  be  escaped  even  by 
those  most  earnestly  claiming  that  the  invention 
and  use  of  such  machines  are  inevitable  results  of 
progress    and    efl&ciency.      Every    office    machine, 


220     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

except  the  letter  stamping  and  folding  machine, 
requires  something  more  than  mere  manual  work. 
Every  operator  has  to  concentrate  to  some  extent 
on  her  work,  or  to  make  some  mental  calculation, 
so  that  compared  with  the  average  factory  worker 
the  office  machine  operator  has  more  nervous 
strain  and,  in  the  use  of  many  machines,  as  much 
physical  effort  to  make. 

There  was,  on  its  first  introduction,  a  loud  out- 
cry against  the  dictating  machine  on  the  groimd 
that  it  was  a  serious  nervous  tax  upon  the  operator. 
Even  the  advertising  pamphlets  of  the  companies 
producing  this  machine  admit  an  initial  popular 
prejudice  which  had  to  be  overcome.  One  pro- 
ducer of  a  dictating  machine,  in  order  to  withstand 
criticism,  had  a  physician  examine  the  operators. 
A  salesman  of  this  machine  in  Cleveland  is  quoted 
in  reference  to  the  physician's  report: 

'^Some  of  the  finest  speciaHsts  in  this  coun- 
try, and  in  Europe,  have  examined  office  workers 
who  have  not  used  our  dictating  machine  and 
those  who  have,  and  they  not  only  did  not 
find  anything  wrong  with  the  latter,  but  re- 
ported that  the  general  health  was  better  for 


i 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  221 

the  ones  who  had  been  usmg  the  dictaphone 
and  that  their  hearing  was  20%  keener/' 

To  offset  this  glowing  statement  the  testimony 
of  one  of  the  girls  interviewed  for  this  study  may  be 
quoted — a  trained  stenographer  who  became  a 
dictaphone  operator.  She  had  no  initial  prejudice 
at  all  against  the  machine  and  recognized  that  she 
made  a  higher  salary  by  its  use,  but  nevertheless 
she  stated  that  the  dictating  machine  is  a  great 
nervous  strain  and  that,  on  some  days,  she  feels 
"just  ready  to  fly."  At  the  time  of  the  interview 
this  girl  was  planning  to  leave  her  position  and 
hoped  to  take  up  shorthand  once  more.  This 
attitude  is  in  contradiction  to  the  dictum  of  the 
producers  of  the  machine,  that  ''once  an  operator, 
always  an  operator." 

The  dictating  machine  in  the  eyes  of  an  educator, 
also,  has  a  different  valuation  from  that  of  the 
above  quoted  salesman.  The  earnest  and  broad- 
minded  head  of  one  of  the  best  private  commercial 
schools  in  Cleveland  stated  that,  in  spite  of  enor- 
mous pressure,  he  had  never  consented  to  put  the 
dictating  machine  into  his  curriculum,  because  he 


222     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

felt  that  it  was  as  yet  unsafe  to  do  so.  He  stated 
that,  properly  used,  the  dictatmg  machine  is  ex- 
cellent from  the  point  of  view  of  business  and 
harmless  for  the  operator;  but  he  is  convinced  that, 
as  yet,  it  is  largely  misused  by  employers  and 
made  only  a  means  of  driving  girls  harder,  without 
considering  that  the  operator,  who  typewrites  all 
day,  with  tubes  in  her  ears,  and  attention  strained 
for  listening,  and  who  has  no  change  of  work, 
suffers  a  serious  nervous  strain.  He  also  states 
that,  as  yet,  the  dictating  machine  results  in  making 
correspondence  work  mechanical  and  uninteresting, 
and  that,  as  an  educator,  he  must  refuse  to  advocate 
this  machine  until  a  reform  in  its  use  by  employers 
has  come  about. 

The  billing  machine  is  considered  by  many  em- 
ployers too  heavy  for  girls  to  handle,  and  boys  are 
employed  for  all  that  kind  of  work.  Other  em- 
ployers are  scornful  of  this  attitude,  one  of  them 
claiming  that  the  pulUng  and  pushing  of  the  ma- 
chine carriage  on  its  grooves  is  good  exercise  for  a 
girl  and  a  fine  counteraction  for  the  monotony  of 
the  work.    A  girl  visited  for  this  study,  employed  as 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  223 

a  biller  for  eight  and  a  half  hours  a  day,  said  that 
the  bilHng  machine  work  is  heavy  and  tiresome, 
and  that  the  shght  overtime  work  that  occasionally 
falls  to  her  lot  is  especially  difficult  to  endure. 

The  Holerieth  tabulating  machine  is  also  a  strain 
upon  the  physique  of  the  operator.  A  statement 
was  made  in  January,  1914,  by  the  Federal  PubHc 
Health  Service  in  Washington,  to  the  effect  that 
this  machine  in  various  factories  and  bxu-eaus  has 
been  placed  imder  surveillance  because  of  the  high 
percentage  of  breakdown  cases  noted  among  women 
operatives.  Operatives  on  the  punching  machines, 
which  form  one  of  the  three  parts  of  the  Holerieth 
tabulating  machine,  complain  of  sore  fingers;  and, 
as  the  soreness  spreads  to  arm  and  shoulder,  severe 
nervousness  follows.  The  statement  predicted  the 
introduction  of  an  electrical  device  to  minimize 
the  physical  effort  needed. 

Conclusion 

Machines  in  office  work  are  as  inevitable  as  ma- 
chines in  industry,  and  it  would  be  absolutely 
futile  to  attempt  to  prevent  their  use  supposing 


224     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

that  prevention  were  to  be  desired.  But  any  ques- 
tion that  the  most  scrupulous  may  have  in  regard 
to  the  present  situation  is  related  not  to  the  in- 
troduction of  the  machine,  but  to  the  way  in  which 
machines  are  used.  There  are  decidedly  right  and 
wrong  ways  for  using  machines  in  offices.  They 
may  be  used  simply  from  the  standpoint  of  forcing 
the  output  of  letters  and  accounts  to  the  greatest 
possible  amount,  with  no  regard  to  the  effect  on 
the  worker;  or  they  may  be  used  to  aid  the  worker, 
by  relieving  strain  due  to  increased  output,  by  doing 
away  with  the  necessity  for  overtime,  and  by  re- 
lieving her  of  tiresome  mental  effort. 

As  employers  come  to  understand  all  that  is 
significant  in  efficiency  they  will  give  more  attention 
to  the  individual  worker,  reahzing  that  only  by 
careful  consideration  will  they  get  increased  out- 
put with  a  minimimi  of  strain  and  effort.  We 
urge  employers  to  consider  with  attention  the 
following  points  by  which  their  methods  may  be 
improved: 

1.  Careful  assignment  of  work  with  the  aid 
of  tests.    (See  Chap.  V,  Part  II.) 


The  Invasion  of  the  Machine  225 

2.  Study  of  the  problem  of  routine.  (See 
Chap.  V,  Part  II.) 

3.  Scrupulous  use  of  office  machines,  taking 
into  consideration  the  welfare  and  therefore 
the  highest  efficiency  of  the  operators. 

4.  Flexibihty  in  arrangement  of  work  so 
as  to  increase  stimulus  and  interest  for  the 
worker.  Good  judgment  and  common  sense 
can  go  far  to  help  the  problem  of  assignment 
of  work  which  science  will  some  day  solve. 
The  following  testimony  from  a  girl  interviewed 
for  this  study  illustrates  this  need: 

Miss  W.  who  is  doing  billing  and  finding  it 
very  tiresome  and  monotonous  said:  ^'I  think 
it  would  be  grand  if  I  could  do  stenography 
for  one-half  of  the  day  and  billing  the  other 
half;  then  I  wouldn't  get  so  tired  and  I  wouldn't 
lose  all  my  shorthand.  If  this  company  had 
two  girls  to  change  off  with,  they  could  make 
that  scheme  work." 

Because  the  tendency  seems  to  be  toward  a  con- 
stant increase  in  the  use  of  machines,  we  urge  com- 
mercial schools  and  placing  agencies  to  be  ahve  to 
the  problems  involved. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CONDITIONS  IN   OFFICE   WOKK 

The  relation  between  right  working  conditions 
and  efficiency  has  been  emphasized  by  efficiency 
engineers  Hke  Mr.  Harrington  Emerson  and  by 
Mr.  James  E.  Schulze,  author  of  ^^The  American 
Office."  Mr.  Schulze  has  offered  a  plan  for  an  office 
establishment,  perfect  in  every  detail,  yet  practical. 
His  treatment  for  laying  out  an  office,  its  equip- 
ment, its  ventilation  and  Hghting,  clearly  show  the 
necessity  of  proper  environment  for  the  worker, 
for  humanitarian  as  well  as  for  business  reasons. 

Physical  conditions  offered  to  office  workers  in 
Cleveland  are  evidently  in  the  main  good.  This 
investigation  found  that  of  the  places  whose  condi- 
tions were  wholly  observed,  only  13%  (17  out  of 
123)  were  in  some  way  unsatisfactory;  but  that  13% 
of  these  offices  should  have  proved  so  far  below 
standard  in   the  essentials  of  good   conditions  is 

surprising  and  deplorable.    Thirteen  establishments 

226 


Conditions  in  Office  Work  227 

had  poor  light;  six  had  poor  ventilation;  fifteen  were 
crowded;  seven  were  dirty;  one  employer  provided 
only  stools  for  his  workers;  two  offices  had  wooden 
stairways;  two  had  rickety  elevators;  and  one  office 
could  be  reached  only  by  a  long  flight  of  stairs. 
Besides  these  123  investigated  offices,  185  offices 
were  visited  in  the  follow-up  study  of  business 
school  graduates.  Eleven  of  these  were  entirely 
unfit  in  equipment  or  location  for  the  employment 
of  young  girls.  These  were:  an  office  located  on  a 
dirty,  narrow  street  with  neither  paving  nor  side- 
walk to  lift  the  foot  passenger  out  of  the  heavy 
mud;  another  located  in  an  isolated,  dark  section 
of  the  city;  an  office  whose  thin  partitions  and 
flooring  admit  every  sound  and  jar  from  factory 
and  shipping  rooms;  offices  with  stuffy,  Httle  rooms, 
old-fashioned  equipment  and  imwashed,  narrow 
windows.  The  girl  workers  in  these  offices  were 
the  young,  immature  products  of  the  cheaper  busi- 
ness schools,  who,  having  little  to  offer,  were  obliged 
to  take  what  they  could  get  by  way  of  a  first  place. 
The  skilled,  efficient  office  workers  were  not  foimd 
in  this  type  of  estabhshment. 


1 


228     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Improvement  of  the  situation  will  come  as  em- 
ployers see  that  the  result  of  poor  conditions  is  apt 
to  be  inefficiency;  i.  e.,  that  poor  ventilation  makes 
workers  drowsy  and  lackadaisical;  crowding  means 
confusion  and  nervous  strain;  dirt  is  an  active 
detriment  to  neat,  accurate  work. 

The  public  must  see  that  the  laws  we  already 
have  in  regard  to  sanitation  are  enforced.  Although 
offices  like  factories  and  mercantile  establishments 
are  covered  by  Ohio  State  laws  providing  for  san- 
itary conditions,  inspectors  do  not  initiate  inves- 
tigation of  them.  They  merely  investigate  com- 
plaints. The  city  makes  even  less  provision  than 
the  State  as  to  sanitary  conditions  in  offices;  for, 
even  when  complaints  are  made  to  the  Department 
of  Sanitation,  the  complainant  is  obhged  to  prove 
that  office  a  public  nuisance  before  getting  any 
action. 

The  result  of  this  investigation  bears  out  the 
current  opinion  that  the  hours  during  which  an 
office  is  open  are  fewer,  usually,  than  factory  hours. 
A  mathematical  average  of  regular  office  hours  in 
the  133  offices  visited   is   8^^.     Although  several 


Conditions  in  Office  Work  229 

offices  reported  9  hours  a  day  of  work,  the  maximum 
is  9J^ — the  hours  found  in  one  large  retail  grocery 
store.  The  minimum  of  hours  is  6^/2 — the  working 
time  of  one  company,  a  banking  firm. 

Opposition  to  legislation  for  a  short  working  day 
for  girls  and  women  in  offices  hinges  upon  the  right 
to  emergent  overtime  work  and  not  upon  the  ques- 
tion of  the  regular  short  working  day.  The  principle 
at  stake  is  whether  it  is  more  important  to  observe 
the  professional  spirit  of  women  office  workers, 
which  would  be  destroyed  if  the  working  day  were 
definitely  Hmited;  or  to  prevent  poor  or  seffish 
management  on  the  part  of  employers.  States 
take  very  different  views  of  this  situation.  Most 
states  include  office  work  in  laws  preventing  the 
work  of  minors;  Virginia  in  forming  her  statutes 
limiting  hours  of  employment  of  women,  definitely 
excludes  '^bookkeepers  and  other  office  assistants." 

Probably  the  fair  method  of  solving  the  dilemma 
is  TO  LIMIT  THE  HOURS  OF  THE  REGULAR 
WORKING  DAY  FOR  WOMEN  AND  GIRLS, 
ALLOWING  OVERTIME  ONLY  ON  THE  BA- 
SIS OF  PROFESSIONAL  WORK;  ALL  PERSONS 


230      Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

RECEIVING  A  SALARY  IN  EXCESS  OF  A 
STATED  AMOUNT  TO  BE  CONSIDERED  PRO- 
FESSIONAL WORKERS. 

The  enforcement  of  an  office-work  law  would  be 
aided  by  the  intelligence  of  the  workers.  With 
copies  of  the  law  posted  on  the  wall,  there  would 
be  small  opportunity  for  employers  to  evade  it. 

About  50%  of  the  offices  questioned  about  over- 
time admit  that  they  have  it  to  some  extent.  Some- 
times it  means  only  an  occasional  half  hour;  but  it 
was  found  that  a  few  offices  require  the  workers 
two  evenings  a  week  till  9  or  10  o'clock  for  as  long 
as  a  month  at  a  time,  several  times  during  the  year. 

In  office  work  as  a  whole,  the  chief  feature  of 
overtime  is  its  irregularity,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
make  a  general  statement  about  the  practice  of  it. 
There  is  no  standard  about  it  in  general;  and  in- 
dividual firms,  similar  in  type  of  work,  may  be 
very  dissimilar  on  the  ground  of  overtime.  One 
law  firm  may  have  no  overtime  at  all  and  another 
may  often  require  the  services  of  the  stenographer 
imtil  late  at  night.  There  is  equal  lack  of  common 
practice  as  regards  pay  for  overtime  work  or  supper 


Conditions  in  Office  Work  231 

money.  It  seems  to  be  generally  true  that  if  a 
girl  is  kept  for  work  half  an  hour  she  is  not  considered 
to  be  working  overtime  to  any  appreciable  degree 
and  no  money  is  offered  her.  If  she  is  kept  till  8 :30 
or  9:30  o'clock,  however,  she  is  usually  compen- 
sated to  some  extent;  she  may  be  given  supper 
money,  which  varies  between  35c  and  50c;  or  she 
may  be  paid  per  hour  for  her  time;  or  she  may  be 
given  supper  money  and  pay  also.  Invoicing,  done 
twice  a  year,  requires  extra  service  of  office  workers 
in  nearly  every  firm.  Whether  they  are  paid  or 
not  depends  on  the  attitude  of  the  company.  If 
the  invoice  is  taken  every  month,  the  girls  are  not 
kept  so  late  and  they  are  not  usually  paid. 

Certain  kinds  of  work  involve  emergencies,  how- 
ever, in  which  overtime  work  is  necessary — ^writing 
up  the  notes  of  a  court  stenographer,  preparing 
notes  for  a  lawyer  during  a  trial,  finishing  an  order 
in  a  public  stenographer's  office,  attending  to 
emergent  correspondence.  This  overtime  work 
cannot  be  done  away  with  altogether,  but  it  ought 
to  be  compensated.  It  is  paid  in  one  lawyer's  office, 
known  through  this  investigation,  at  double  the 


232     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

regular  day  rate  per  hour.  The  worker  ought 
always  to  know  that  overtune  will  be  required  of  her 
before  she  agrees  to  accept  the  place. 

The  dictating  machine  is  a  valuable  influence  for 
reducing  overtime.  An  employer  who  wishes  to 
work  at  irregular  hours,  instead  of  requiring  the 
presence  of  his  stenographer,  may  use  the  dictating 
machine  and  place  the  discs  on  the  stenographer's 
table  so  that  she  may  get  the  letters  out  during 
regular  working  hours.  A  recent  article  in  the 
System  Magazine  is  significant  as  expressing  a 
growing  belief  that  overtime  means  inefficiency, 
and  that  with  proper  ofiice  conditions,  equipment 
and  system,  most  of  it  will  be  found  unnecessary. 
Employers  are  urged  to  avoid  exacting  overtime 
of  the  office  worker  unless  it  is  impossible  to  prevent 
it;  to  require  overtime  only  of  the  responsible,  highly 
paid  workers  and  to  offer  sufficient  compensation. 

It  is  a  fact  generally  accepted  that  firms  give 
regular  vacations  to  office  workers,  but  the  applica- 
tion of  the  vacation  policy  seems  to  vary  with  each 
particular  firm.  The  majority  who  reported  on 
this  point,  give  a  vacation  of  one  or  two  weeks  with 


Conditions  in  Office  Work  233 

pay  to  every  worker  regardless  of  time  spent  with 
the  company.  Other  firms  give  a  vacation,  quaHfied 
according  to  length  of  worker's  stay;  workers  who 
have  been  with  the  company  six  months  may  re- 
ceive one  week  of  vacation  and  those  who  have 
been  working  a  year,  two  weeks. 

An  equal  variation  of  practice  is  observed  with 
regard  to  the  weekly  half  hoUday.  Out  of  63  firms 
reporting  on  this,  44  give  a  regular  weekly  half 
hoUday  the  year  round,  14  give  it  only  in  the  summer 
and  5  do  not  give  any.  Most  often,  of  course,  the 
holiday  is  Saturday  afternoon,  but  when  ofl&ces 
must  be  open  at  that  time,  some  other  day  during 
the  week  may  be  arranged  for  free  time. 

The  opportunity  this  investigation  afforded  to 
talk  personally  to  hundreds  of  girls,  accumulated 
ample  evidence  that  both  regular  annual  vacation 
with  pay  and  a  weekly  half  holiday  are  essential 
to  women  office  workers,  not  only  for  human  but 
also  for  efficiency  reasons. 

Other  chapters  in  the  book  have  contributed 
information  about  wages.  The  points  made  else- 
where are  cited  below.     In  the  first  two  chapters, 


234     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

indicated  by  1  and  2  below,  wages  are  presented  for 
the  extremes  in  office  work.  Another  chapter, 
indicated  by  3,  presents  wages  of  a  representative 
character,  and  is  supplemented  by  the  table  con- 
tained in  the  present  chapter. 

1.  Wages  of  office  workers  with  grade  school 
preparation  compared  with  wages  of  those 
who  have  high  school  education.  This  chapter 
presents  the  extreme  lower  end  of  wages  for 
office  work.  (Fate  of  8th  Grade  Children, 
Chapter  VI,  Part  I) 

2.  Wages  of  women  holding  executive  and 
imusual  positions.  This  chapter  presents  the 
extreme  higher  end  of  wages  in  office  work. 
(Woman's  Conquest  of  Office  Work,  Chapter 
II,  Part  II) 

3.  Wages  of  the  graduates  of  the  High  School 
of  Commerce,  representing  mainly  the  initial 
wages  of  workers  with  a  good  preparation  of 
general  education  and  special  training  who 
are  just  entering  upon  the  field  of  office  work. 
(Public  Schools,  Chapter  I,  Part  I) 

We  present  here  a  table  of  wages  sunmiarized 
from  the  133  office  investigation  records  and  thor- 
oughly representative  in  character.  The  amounts 
noted  were  given  by  employers. 


Conditions  in  Office  Work                 235 

TABLE  OF  WEEKLY  WAGES  IN  OFFICE  WORK  FOR  GIRLS 

(Based  on  2,816  positions  in  33  kinds  of  business) 

Minimum  Average  of  Maximum 

Wage  Per  Usual  Wage  Wage  Per 

Week  Per  Week        Week 

Management $10.00  $32.50        $45.00 

Special 15.00 

Stenography 

Stenography ' 5.00  11.65           31.00 

Stenography  &  Executive.     10.00  18.00           25.00 

Stenography  &  Clerical .  .  .     10.00  12.00           15.00 
Stenography   &   Dictating 

Machine 10.00  12.00 

Stenography  &  Billing 10.00  15.00 

Bookkeeping 

Bookkeeping 6.00  11.12           30.00 

Cashier  Work 8.00  10.00           18.00 

Statistical  Work 6.00  9.30           17.50 

Department  Clerks 8.00  25.00 

Machine  Work 

Adding  Machine 8.50  10.00           11.00 

Addressing  Machine 9.00 

Billing  on  Typewriter 7.00  11.18           17.00 

Billing 8.50  15.00 

Card  Punching  Machine. .       8.50  10.00           11.00 

Comptometer 7.00  12.50           17.50 

Mimeograph 10.00 

Multigraph 8.50  17.00 


236      Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Minimum  Average  of  Maximum 
Wage  Per  Usual  Wage  Wage  Per 
Machine  Work — Continued       Week        Per  Week        Week 

Tabulating  Machine $8.50 

Typing 5.00  $9.00 

Typing  &  Measuring  (Ad- 
vertisements)         7.00         $10.00 

Typing  &  Dictating  Ma- 
chine        6.00  14.00  15.00 

Clerical  Work 

Records 6.00  8.50  20.00 

Filing 5.00  8.70  15.00 

Longhand 8.50  7.00  14.00 

Miscellaneous 5.00  6.00 

General  Office  Work 5.00  8.67  25.00 

The  field  of  office  work  offers  recognized  opportu- 
nity for  advancement.  This  is  the  salient  point 
in  considering  office  work  as  a  vocation,  since  it  is 
of  consequence  for  young  people  to  choose  an 
occupation  for  its  future  opportunities  of  promo- 
tion rather  than  for  its  initial  wages.  That  office 
work  is  a  vocation  that  is  definitely  worth  while  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  of  2,816  positions  included 
in  the  classification  on  page  173,  only  4%  do  not 
offer  advancement. 
A  number  of  other  chapters  touch  upon  the  sub- 


Conditions  in  Office  Work  237 

ject  of  advancement  and  the  following  is  a  brief 
summary  of  points  made: 

1.  A  study  of  the  occupational  history  of  the 
graduates  of  the  High  School  of  Commerce 
over  a  period  of  3  years  shows  in  general  that 
a  high  school  training  of  4  years  is  rewarded 
by  regular  advancement.  It  is  the  exceptional 
graduate  of  this  school  who  is  not  promoted. 
(Chap.  I,  Part  II) 

2.  Advancement  from  semi-office  to  real 
office  positions  is  possible  for  workers  attending 
night  schools.    (Chap.  V,  Part  I) 

3.  A  comparison  of  the  wage  increase  for 
grade  prepared  students  and  high  school  grad- 
uates during  a  given  period  of  time,  shows  that 
the  wages  of  the  latter  shoot  way  ahead  and  is 
proof  that  advancement  requires  high  school 
education.    (Chap.  VI,  Part  I) 

4.  The  relation  of  advancement  to  prepara- 
tion and  training  is  again  brought  out  by 
analyzing  the  2,816  positions  included  in  our 
investigation  of  office  establishments.  Our 
records  show  that  every  position  offering  ad- 
vancement requires  either  high  school  education 
or  special  training.     (Chap.  V,  Part  II) 

5.  The  probation  wage  in  relation  to  advance- 
ment, and  other  features  of  the  employers' 
responsibility  for  advancement  are  discussed 
in  the  same  chapter.    (Chap.  V,  Part  II) 


238     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

6.  The  high  pitch  of  advancement  reached 
by  trained,  experienced  women  after  years  of 
effort  comes  out  in  the  presentation  of  woman's 
conquest  of  office  work.  These  top-notch 
positions,  looked  up  to  with  envy  and  admira- 
tion by  inexperienced  workers,  have  been 
reached  by  gradual  advance  along  the  same 
well-worn  path  which  newcomers  in  this  field 
are  treading,  but  they  have  depended  largely 
upon  innate  abiUty.     (Chap.  II,  Part  II) 

The  direction  of  advancement  from  one  position 
to  another  is  an  illuminating  study.  Corresponding 
to  the  classification  in  Chapter  I,  Part  II,  the  fol- 
lowing table  has  been  worked  out  to  show  the  ad- 
vancement possible  for  definite  kinds  of  work. 
Two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixteen  posi- 
tions noted  in  our  investigation  of  office  work  and 
one  himdred  records  of  workers  form  the  basis  of 
this  tabulation.  The  classification  itself  shows,  within 
its  groups,  a  logical,  perfect  scheme  of  advancement 
from  lower  to  higher  positions;  but  actual  promotion 
does  not  always  come  in  this  logical  way.  The  fol- 
lowing tabulation  shows  the  actual  experience  of  in-  ; 
dividual  girls  in  offices  and  the  manner  of  their 
promotion  from  one  kind  of  work  to  another. 


Conditions  in  Office  Work 


TABLE  SHOWING  DIRECTION  OF  ADVANCEMENT 


239 


(From  lower  to  higher  positions) 
Based  on  study  of  positions  held  by  2916  trained  oflfice  workers 
I.  Management. 


Office  Management- 
Executive  Work-* 


II. 


Special. 
Copywriting    in    Ad. 

Dept.-> 
Proof-reading— ► 

III.  Stenography. 

Private  Secretary 

Work-* 
Expert  Stenography-* 


Stenography- 


Secretary  and  Treasurer  Work. 
Supervision  and  Employment. 


Publicity  Dept.  Management. 
Charge  of  Library. 


Executive  Secretary  Work. 
Private  Secretary  Work. 

Office  Managing. 
Department  Managing. 
Executive  Work. 
Executive  Secretary  Work. 
Supervision. 
Editorial  Work. 
Advertising. 
Court  Stenography. 
Convention  Reporting. 
Expert  Stenography. 
Correspondence  Work. 
Stenography  and  Bookkeeping. 
Department  Clerkship. 
Endorsement  Clerkship. 


240      Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 


Stenography-* 


Stenography    and 
Bookkeeping-* 


Order  Clerkship. 
Chief  Clerkship. 
Cataloging. 

Buyer's  Assistant  Work. 
Dictating  Machine  Operation. 
Library  Managing. 
General  Office  Work. 
Private  Secretary  Work. 

Bookkeeping. 


IV.  Bookkeeping. 

Assistant   Treasurer 

Work-* 
Expert  Auditing  Work- 
Expert    Statistical 

Work—* 


Adjustment  Clerkship. 
►  Department  Management. 

Executive  Work. 


BookkeepiD?- 


Auditing-* 


Office  Managing. 
Teller  Work. 
Treasurer  Work. 
Asst.  Treasurer  Work. 
Statistical  Work. 
Expert  Bookkeeping. 
Cashier  Work. 
Auditing. 

Credit  Assistant  Work. 
Billing. 

Executive  Work. 
Head  Cashier  Work. 


Conditions  in  Office  Work 


241 


Auditing— > 

Bookkeeping. 

i 

Assistant  Bookkeeping. 

Charge  of  Post  Office  Dept. 

■ 

Pay  Roll. 

1                 Cashier  Work -► 

Record  Work. 

t 

Pricing. 

t 

General  Office  Work. 

'                 Tube  Work-^ 

Clerical  Work. 

Executive  Work. 

i 

> 

Advertising  Work. 

Figuring-* 

Statistical  Work. 

Expert  Auditing. 

Head  Clerkship. 

V.  Department  Clerks. 

Credit  Clerkship-* 

Cashier  Work. 

Order         "        -^ 

Executive. 

Cost  Clerkship. 

Pay-roll  Clerkship-* 

Expert  Bookkeeping. 

Stock  clerkship. 

VI.  Clerical  Work. 

Supervision. 

Stock  Room  Managing. 

Private  Secretary  Work. 

Bookkeeping. 

Records-* 

Billing. 

Statistical  Work. 

Auditing. 

Pay-roll  Work. 

Purchasing  Work. 

242      Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 


Filing- 


Statistical  Work. 
Bookkeeping. 
Department  Clerkship. 
Endorsement       " 
Record  Work. 
General  Office  Work. 


Miscellaneous. 
Planning  Orders- 


Executive  Work. 
Statistical  Work. 


Bookkeeping. 
Counting  and  Sort-    r,,^,^  ^ork. 
mg-^ 

General  Office  Work. 


Longhand- 


Collection  Clerkship. 
Library  Work. 
General  Office  Work. 


VII.  Machine  Work 


Typing-^ 


Dept.  Managing. 

Stenography. 

Application  Clerkship. 

Multigraphing. 

Dictating  Machine  Operating. 


Billing  on  Typewriter-*  Stenography. 

Stenography  and  Billing. 


Typing  and  Mailing- 


Printing  and  Multigraphing.      i 


Conditions  in  Office  Work  243 


Billing  Machine-* 


Supervision. 
Cashier  Work. 
Bookkeeping. 
Credit  Clerkship. 


Executive  Work. 
Tabulating  Machine— >    Statistical  Work. 
Auditing. 

Addressing  Machine -►    Head  of  Dept. 

VIII.  General  Office  Work. 

Executive  Work. 
Employment. 
Bookkeeping. 
General  Office  Work->    Figuring. 
Auditing. 
BiUing. 
Clerical  Work. 

The  tabulation  given  above  shows  that  advance- 
ment may  come  in  many  different  ways  and  in- 
dicates that  the  more  a  girl  knows  and  the  more 
varied  her  specialties  are,  the  better  are  her  chances 
for  promotion  along  one  hne  or  another.  Stenog- 
raphy opens  the  most  varied  possibilities  of  ad- 
vancement; bookkeeping  and  its  allied  kinds  of 
work  run  a  close  second.  This  outline  of  possible 
advancement  shows  that  office  work  is  a  vocation 


244     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

well  worth  the  investment  of  years  of  education  and 
at  least  a  year  of  special  training. 

The  question  of  demand  and  supply  in  office 
work  has  been  illumined  in  many  ways  during  the 
course  of  this  investigation.  In  the  field  of  office 
work  study  and  in  interviews  with  employment 
bureau  agents  especially,  information  came  readily, 
although  not  in  form  complete  enough  for  tabula- 
tion. But  we  have  sufficient  data  to  justify  the 
general  assertion  that  THERE  IS  NO  OVER 
SUPPLY  OF  WELL  TRAINED,  EFFICIENT 
WORKERS.  There  is  in  the  city  a  horde  of  im- 
properly trained  and  otherwise  undesirable  can- 
didates who  create  an  apparent  over  supply,  but 
who  bear  no  relation  to  real  demand.  If  the  schools 
generally  were  to  become  efficient  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  students,  the  risk  of  over  supply  would  be 
lessened  by  the  fact  that  real  efficiency  in  training 
would  mean  a  reduction  in  the  quota  of  each  school; 
for  it  carries  with  it  elimination  of  the  imfit  before 
entrance  upon  and  during  the  course  of  preparation. 

The  moral  situation  in  office  work,  though  less 
serious  than  in  other  occupations,  deserves  grave 


Conditions  in  Office  Work  245 

i-  consideration  by  those  responsible  for  placing  girls 
*  in  office  positions.    The  Government  report  on  the 

*' Relation  between  Occupation  and  Criminality 
i  of  Women''  made  in  1911  for  the  Commissioner 
I  of  Labor,  includes  office  work  in  its  hst  of  occupations 
I  studied.    We  quote  the  reference  to  moral  conditions 

of  office  workers: 

'^Careful  inquiry  was  made  (Pages  87  and  89) 
as  to  whether  experience  had  actually  shown 
that  any  given  occupations  were  morally  dan- 
gerous. Five  were  assigned  by  different  social 
and  rescue  workers:  domestic  service,  the  work 
of  hotel  or  restaurant  waitresses,  the  low-grade 
factory  trade,  trained  nursing,  and,  .  .  .  the 
cheaper  stenographic  positions.  Stenography, 
as  has  already  been  mentioned,  was  assigned  as  a 
dangerous  occupation  by  only  one  social  worker, 
a  worker,  however,  of  such  wide  experience  that 
her  opinion  should  count  for  much.  Her  beUef  is 
that  its  dangers  are  confined  to  the  class  that  re- 
ceive the  lowest  salaries  of  all,  the  girls  of  14  or 
15,  just  out  of  school,  who  are  ignorant  and  un- 
trained, wholly  undeveloped  in  character,  not 
habituated  to  self-control,  rather  weak-willed, 
and  entirely  unaware  of  the  possible  dangers  of 
their  position.  Such  girls  she  declared  were  un- 
questionably taken  advantage  of  by  their  em- 


246     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

ployers  on  occasions.  Whether  they  would  be 
likely  to  get  on  better  in  any  other  occupation 
was  dubious.  She  was  not  inclined  to  beheve 
that  if,  remaining  just  such  girls  as  they  are, 
they  should  be  transferred  to  domestic  service, 
their  dangers  would  be  materially  lessened. 
The  real  peril  lay  in  their  immaturity  or  lack 
of  training,  and  until  that  was  removed  they 
would  encounter  serious  risk  wherever  they 
might  be." 


A  table  of  statistics  in  the  same  book  based  on 
the  report  of  the  House  of  Correction,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  1908,  shows  that  8.7%  of  the  women  inmates 
came  from  domestic  service,  9.7%  from  manufac- 
turing work  and  1.6%  from  office  work  (the  rest 
being  women  of  no  definite  occupation).  This 
relation  of  percentages  is  typical  according  to  the 
author  of  the  Government  report. 

No  special  effort  was  made  in  our  investigation 
to  secure  information  about  the  moral  situation 
in  office  work.  But  it  stands  to  reason  that  there 
is  some  risk  for  a  girl  who  is  the  single  employee  of 
a  single  employer,  engaged  closely  with  him  in  work 
more  or  less  private  in  nature.    It  is  essential  for  a 


Conditions  in  Office  Work  247 

person  placing  a  girl  in  an  office  of  this  sort  to  know 

beyond  a  reasonable  doubt  the  character  of  the  man 

who  employs  her.    The  following  instances,  which 

I    interviews  with  girls  for  this  study  brought  out, 

I     are  illustrations  of  the  kind  of  experience  possible 

I'    to  a  girl  in  office  employment. 

I  A  girl  who  came  this  year  to  an  employment 

I  agency  known  to  be  organized  for  girls'  welfare 

I  warned  the  Placement  Secretary  not  to  send 

any  girl  to  her  former  employer,  because  he 
had  been  most  insulting  in  his  famiharity. 
The  girl  was  so  surprised  and  outraged  that 
she  was  half  afraid  to  try  another  place. 

Another  girl,  interviewed  in  the  course  of 
this  study,  said  that  when  she  started  out  she 
was  young  and  immature,  and  being  inex- 
perienced had  to  take  what  she  could  get  by 
way  of  a  first  opening.  Her  first  two  places 
were  so  bad  that  she  stayed  at  each  of  them 
only  about  a  week.  She  said  that,  after  the 
first  few  days,  both  employers  were  outrageous 
in  their  conduct.  One  of  them  put  his  arm 
around  her  every  time  he  came  to  ask  her 
anything  about  her  notes;  the  other  fairly 
insulted  her.  The  girl  thought  she  could  stop 
this  conduct  by  a  freezing  manner,  which 
completely  ignored  it;  but  finding  this  of  no 
use,  she  was  obliged  to  leave. 


248     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

This  testimony  is  corroborated  by  the  priests 
and  sisters  in  charge  of  the  commercial  courses  in 
the  parochial  schools,  who  are  very  much  opposed 
to  placing  girls  in  one-man  ofl&ces. 

Recommendations  for  Improvement  of  Present  Con- 
ditions 

1.  Regular  official  inspection  of  the  physical 
conditions  in  offices. 

2.  Legislation  limiting  the  hours  of  the  regular 
working  day  for  office  workers,  allowing  overtime 
on  the  basis  of  professional  work. 

3.  Promotion  of  a  weekly  half  holiday  throughout 
the  year  and  annual  vacation  with  pay  for  all  office 
workers. 

4.  Caution  in  the  placement  of  a  girl  alone  in  a 
one-man  office. 


CHAPTER  V 

JUST  DEMANDS  OF  THE  AVERAGE  EMPLOYER 

It  can  be  assumed  that,  through  the  mterviews 
held  with  all  the  employers  visited  in  the  study  of 
the  field  of  office  work,  the  point  of  view  of  the 
average  employer  has  been  obtained.  This  chap- 
ter is  a  discussion  of  what  the  usual  employer  ex- 
pects the  girl  in  his  office  to  offer  in  personality, 
character,  and  training,  and  what  he  expects  her 
to  accept  in  work  and  compensation. 

All  employers  interviewed  agreed  in  their  state- 
ment of  the  essential  qualities  that  a  girl  must  have 
in  order  to  do  satisfactory  office  work  of  any  kind — 
simple  or  experienced.  These  are:  natural  intel- 
Hgence,  agreeable  personaUty,  sense  of  initiative, 
responsibihty,  honesty,  steadiness,  and  loyalty  to 
the  company. 

The  classification  given  in  pages  173-177  shows 

the  importance  of  both  high  school  education  and 

business  training  to  a  girFs  highest  success  in  this 

249 


250     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

field.  Employers  agree  in  their  demands  for  a 
foundation  of  character  and  natural  ability  on  the 
part  of  office  workers,  but  their  requirements  in 
definite  training  and  general  education  for  entrance 
into  office  work  vary  according  to  the  kind  of  work 
they  have  for  girls  to  do.  Some  employers  have 
so  httle  work  that  is  not  of  an  elementary  kind  that 
they  do  not  try  to  secure  high  school  graduates, 
and  may  or  may  not  need  girls  commercially  trained; 
some  have  almost  entirely  the  kind  of  work  requiring 
special  training  or  advanced  education;  some  have 
work  of  each  kind.  Employers  of  the  last  class  are 
wilhng  to  take  for  subordinate  work  any  promising 
candidate,  regardless  of  training  or  education,  and 
for  the  more  complex  work  give  the  preference  to 
high  school  graduates  or  to  girls  with  both  high 
school  and  business  training. 

Work  which  a  girl  may  enter  without  a  high  school 
education  is  to  be  found  in  departments  of  all 
large  establishments,  in  doctors^  and  dentists' 
offices,  and  in  offices  of  addressing  and  circulating 
bureaus. 

Of  the  2816  positions  noted  in  the  classification 


JiLst  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer       251 

of  office  work,  912  positions — 32%  of  the  whole 
number — ^may  be  entered  by  girls  with  less  than  a 
high  school  education.  It  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance to  note  that  of  these  912  positions — listed 
below  in  Table  I — those  marked  by  a  star  offer  no 
logical  advancement.  These  912  positions  are  thus 
divided : 

13.5% — the  starred  positions — offer  no  advance- 
ment. 

36.5%  definitely  require  high  school  education 
for  advancement. 

50%  may  or  may  not  require  high  school  educa- 
tion for  advancement,  according  to  the  demands  of 
the  particular  estabhshments. 

Table  I 

LIST  OP  912  POSITIONS  WHICH  MAY  BE   ENTERED  WITHOUT  HIGH 
SCHOOL   EDUCATION 

Typing 241 

Auditing 196 

Entering 107 

Figuring 98 

Tabulating 60 

Copying  and  Writing  Forms 37 

*  Writing  Tags  and  Slips 34 


252      Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

*  Cashier  and  Check-room  Work 30 

*  Tracing  and  Verifying 27 

*  Mailing 21 

Listing  and  Pricing 19 

Tube  Work. 16 

*  Addressing  Machine  Work 12 

*  Counting  and  Sorting 7 

Sales  and  Expense  Reports 4 

*  Ticket  Stamping 2 

*  Adding  Machine  Work 1 

912 

Of  the  2816  total  positions,  742— 26%— may  be 
entered  without  special  training.  Of  these  742  po- 
sitions listed  below  in  Table  II,  those  marked  by  a 
star  as  in  Table  I  offer  no  logical  advancement.  The 
742  positions  may  be  thus  divided  in  respect  to  ad- 
vancement: 

First:  On  the  basis  of  specialized  training: 

84.9%  either  offer  no  advancement  or  are  not  de- 
pendent on  training  for  advancement. 

12.6%  definitely  require  speciaUzed  training  for 
advancement. 

2.5%  may  or  may  not  require  training  for  ad- 
vancement, according  to  the  demands  of  the  par- 
ticular establishments. 


Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer      253 

Second:  On  the  basis  of  high  school  education: 

18.2% — the  starred  positions — offer  no  advance- 
ment. 

53.9%  definitely  require  high  school  education 
for  advancement. 

27.9%  may  or  may  not  require  high  school  educa- 
tion for  advancement  according  to  the  demands 
of  particular  establishments. 

Table  II 

LIST  OP  742  POSITIONS  WHICH  MAY  BE  ENTERED  WITHOUT  SPECIAL 

TRAINING 

Auditing 196 

Entering 107 

Figuring 98 

Tabulating 60 

Copying  and  Writing  Forms 37 

*  Writing  Tags  and  Slips 34 

*  Cashier  and  Check-room  Work 30 

*  Tracing  and  Verifying 27 

♦MaiUng. 21 

General  Office  Work 21 

Listing  Stock  and  Pricing 19 

Credit  Clerk 18 

Tube  Work 16 

Addressing  Machine  Work 12 

Counting  and  Sorting 7 

Making  Appointments 7 


254     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

Information  Clerk 6 

Planning  Orders 5 

Sales  and  Expense  Reports 4 

Record  Clerk 3 

Accident  Claim  Clerk 2 

Cataloging 2 

*  Ticket-stamping  machine 2 

Complaint  Clerk 

Employment  Clerk 

Exchange  of  Merchandise  Clerk 

Mail  Clerk 

Order  Clerk 

Pay-roll  Clerk 

Stock-room  Clerk 

*  Adding  Machine  Work 


742 


Examination  of  the  records  represented  in  this 
study  indicates  that  POSITIONS  WHICH  OF- 
FER LOGICAL  ADVANCEMENT  FOR  THE 
AVERAGE  GIRL  REQUIRE  FOR  THAT  AD- 
VANCEMENT IN  EVERY  CASE  A  HIGH 
SCHOOL  EDUCATION  AND,  IN  MOST  CASES, 
SPECIALIZED  TRAINING. 

The  mental  calculations  involved  in  figuring 
simple  percentages — cashier's  work  and  other  oc- 
cupations  named   above — ^are   very  easy  and  are 


Jiist  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer       255 

learned  almost  at  once  by  young  workers,  but  there 
is  great  monotony  as  well  as  danger  of  permanent 
limitation  to  narrow  and  mechanical  work.  Be- 
cause young  inexperienced  girls  of  limited  educa- 
tion can  do  this  work  without  any  investment  in 
special  training,  the  wage  paid  for  it  is  small — 
amounting  to  $5.00  and  $6.00  a  week — and  there 
is  very  httle  chance  for  advancement. 

One  employer  said  that  for  her  department 
the  work  of  figuring  percentages  could  be  done 
better  by  a  girl  who  has  just  left  her  eighth 
grade,  than  by  a  high  school  graduate,  since 
the  former  had  just  studied  in  school  the  sort 
of  arithmetic  needed  for  her  work,  and  had  to 
be  taught  very  httle. 

But  this  work  is  often  temporary;  sometimes  it  is 
even  done  on  a  part-time  basis,  and  it  is  the  unusual 
girl  who  advances  to  better  work  without  further 
training. 

There  are  some  employers  who  aflfirm  that  ad- 
vancement in  office  work  is  possible  for  a  girl 
with  neither  high  school  education  nor  special 
training,  provided  she  possesses  an  agreeable  per- 
sonahty,  natural  inteUigence,  etc.,  with  ambition 


256     Commercial  Work  and  Training  jor  Girls 

added.  These  employers  think  that  if  workers  are 
started  in  young  there  is  a  mutual  advantage:  the 
employee  gains  the  interest  of  the  company,  and 
the  first  consideration  of  possible  advancement; 
the  company  gains  an  advantage  in  the  work  done 
by  the  employee  of  long  standing  because  of  her 
intimate  and  tested  knowledge  of  the  firm's  methods. 
BUT  THE  EMPLOYER  DOES  NOT  TAKE 
INTO  ACCOUNT  THAT  EVEN  FOR  THE  UN- 
USUAL GIRL  THIS  SYSTEM  REQUIRES  A 
LONG  HARD  APPRENTICESHIP  WITH  A 
REWARD  IN  WORK  AND  WAGES  THAT  IS 
LATE  IN  COMING,  AS  COMPARED  WITH 
THE  IMMEDIATE  ADVANTAGE  WHICH 
COMES  TO  ONE  ENTERING  THIS  FIELD 
EQUIPPED  WITH  ADEQUATE  TRAINING 
AND  GENERAL  EDUCATION.  Even  these 
very  employers  admit  without  realizing  it  that 
advancement  in  office  work  demands  special  training. 

Mr.  F.,  of  a  large  manufacturing  concern, 
when  asked  what  kinds  of  office  work  he  had 
for  girls,  repHed,  '^We  have  no  such  thing,  we 
have  only  work."     He  went  on  to  say  that 


Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer      257 

rather  than  employ  a  new  girl,  even  though 
a  graduate  of  a  business  school,  he  greatly  pre- 
ferred to  take  a  bright  girl  from  the  factory, 
put  her  in  the  ofl&ce  at  some  simple  form  of 
clerical  work,  and  gradually  advance  her. 
He  stated  he  preferred  to  have  the  girl  taught 
typewriting  in  odd  moments,  or  have  her  go 
to  night  school  and  learn  stenography,  and 
that  the  advantage  of  the  girFs  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  company's  work  from  the 
bottom  up,  counted  against  the  inconvenience 
of  waiting  for  her  to  be  gradually  trained. 

If  such  an  employer  can  select  unusual  girls  with 
constitutions  strong  enough  to  stand  the  strain  of 
working  all  day  and  studying  at  night,  he  is  doing 
them  a  service,  but  such  an  attitude  cannot  set  a 
program  for  the  average  worker.  For  an  employer 
to  take  a  general  stand  against  education  and  train- 
ing for  office  work  is  dangerous  and  unfair,  and 
mihtates  against  the  efforts  of  schools  and  placing 
agencies  to  raise  the  standard  of  commercial  work. 

Girls  with  grade  school  preparation  are  employed 
also  by  physicians  and  dentists.  There  are  no 
requirements  that  a  girl  of  normal  intelhgence 
cannot  fill.    This  sort  of  work  leads  nowhere,  and 


258     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

although  the  hours  are  often  quite  short  (from  8:00 
A.  M.  or  9:00  A.  M.  to  4:00  in  the  afternoon)  it  can 
only  be  recommended  for  girls  going  to  night  school, 
or  for  those  who  can  use  unoccupied  time  for  study. 
The  trained  ambitious  girl  is  not  attracted  to  this 
sort  of  work,  since  $7.00  a  week  is  about  the  limit 
of  remuneration.  Maturity  and  experience  rather 
than  education  often  are  the  assets  which  make  a 
girl  valuable  to  a  doctor,  but  sometimes  a  girl  as 
young  as  sixteen  is  employed. 

One  physician  outlined  the  ordinary  require- 
ments, as  follows:  a  fair  elementary  education; 
abihty  to  learn  to  sterilize  the  instruments 
and  to  assist  the  doctor  in  very  minor  opera- 
tions; abihty  to  keep  the  doctor's  accounts 
after  a  simple  fashion  (this  requisite  is  per- 
haps not  typical  since  many  doctors  make  out 
their  bills  themselves);  skill  in  using  the  tel- 
ephone, which  includes  a  good  voice  and  man- 
ner, absolute  accuracy  in  hearing  and  recording 
numbers,  names,  and  streets;  tact  with  patients 
who  demand  the  doctor's  immediate  attention. 

The  kind  of  work  which  especially  demands  high 
school  education  is  found  in  the  offices  of  banks, 
railroad  companies,  lawyers,  insurance  and  steam- 


Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer       259 

ship  companies,  telephone  and  telegraph  companies, 
in  printing  and  publishing,  wholesale  and  retail 
and  manufacturing  estabhshments.  It  includes  ste- 
nography, bookkeeping,  cost  work,  filing,  general 
office,  advanced  clerical  and  executive  work.  Em- 
ployers demand  high  school  graduates  for  this 
work  because  it  requires  not  only  specialized  training 
but  the  general  education  that  has  matured  the 
worker's  mind  and  has  taught  her  to  think  quickly 
and  independently. 

One  lawyer  stated  that  for  success  in  law 
work  a  girl  must  have  above  everything  else 
a  good  foundation  of  general  education,  because 
fortified  by  this  general  knowledge  she  would 
find  neither  mystery  nor  red  tape  about  the 
work  and  can  acquire  the  necessary  vocabulary 
very  easily. 

A  girl  who  has  had  a  high  school  education  has 
the  essentials  for  advancement  in  much  of  the  work 
in  the  ofl&ce  of  large  retail  firms. 

The  business  manager  of  one  such  firm 
stated  that  a  high  school  education  is  perhaps 
not  always  inamediately  appreciable  in  the 
initial  wage  received  by  the  girl;  for  all  new 


260     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

employees,  no  matter  what  their  training,  if 
without  experience,  are  placed  on  about  the 
same  probation  salary.  But  the  girl  with  an 
advanced  general  education,  given  the  same 
inherent  abiUty,  makes  good  sooner  than  the 
one  with  only  grade  preparation,  and  her 
salary  will  consequently  increase  more  rapidly. 
She  does  not  run  the  danger  of  sticking  to  a 
mechanical  job  and  is  in  hne  for  a  position  re- 
quiring initiative  and  independent  thinking. 

In  dictaphone  operating,  a  backgroimd  of  high 
school  EngUsh  training  is  especially  essential. 

The  office  manager  in  a  printing  and  publish- 
ing house,  where  most  of  the  work  for  girls  is 
dictaphone  operating,  said  that  he  greatly 
preferred  a  girl  with  high  school  education  to 
one  without.  ^^The  high  school  graduate," 
said  he,  '^has  an  advantage  in  dictaphone 
operating  because  many  words  sound  so  nearly 
the  same  over  the  transmitter  that  a  girl  must 
be  really  educated  and  able  to  appreciate  fine 
distinctions  if  she  is  to  be  a  success  as  an  op- 
erator." As  a  typical  instance,  he  told  of  a 
girl  who  took  over  the  transmitter,  the  sentence 
'^Silence  is  the  best  pohcy"  and  transcribed  it 
on  the  typewriter  in  the  midst  of  a  letter,  ^'Vi- 
olence is  the  best  policy."  The  employer  added, 
''And  it  is,  for  such  an  operator! " 


Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer       261 

Work  open  to  girls  in  a  bank  demands  advanced 
general  education  for  either  stenographic  or  clerical 
work  because  it  requires  a  high  degree  of  excellence. 

One  banker  expressed  his  requirements  thus: 
'Tor  our  work  girls  cannot  have  too  much 
general  education  and  special  training.  We 
like  to  fit  them  into  several  different  positions 
and  quick  adjustment  requires  maturity  and 
education.  For  a  girl  so  educated  who  remains 
with  us,  we  are  glad  to  pay  a  high  salary." 

The  probation  wage  which  the  average  employer 
thinks  just,  must  be  discussed  in  connection  with 
this  consideration  of  advancement.  The  illustra- 
tions just  cited  show  that  advancement  is  depend- 
ent, so  far  as  the  girl  is  concerned,  upon  her  natural 
abihty,  education  and  training. 

The  probation  wage  for  all  inexperienced  girls, 
trained  or  not,  is  justifiable  because  in  the  beginning 
it  cannot  be  known  what  girls  are  worth,  and  be- 
cause there  is  a  necessary  first  period  of  adjustment, 
during  which  a  girl  is  only  learning  and  accomplishes 
very  httle.  But  there  should  be  a  definite  limit  for 
the  period  of  probation,  at  the  end  of  which  the 


262     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

probation  wage  should  be  supplemented  by  a  regular 
salary,  or  the  office  worker  should  be  discharged  as 
incompetent.  The  probation  period  should  continue 
for  a  short  time  only.  One  employer  suggests  a 
month.  Unless  the  probation  wage  is  limited  to  a 
definite  period,  it  cannot  conscientiously  be  justified. 
The  lack  of  standardized  wages  and  advancement 
in  small  offices  as  compared  with  large  offices,  to- 
gether with  the  fact  that  there  are  many  more  small 
offices  than  large,  must  put  girl  workers  and  those 
in  charge  of  placing  girls  in  office  work,  strongly 
on  their  guard.  No  one  but  a  pessimist  believes  that 
willfully  unjust  employers  form  a  large  percentage 
of  the  men  in  business,  but  since  the  probation  wage 
is  safe  only  in  the  hands  of  fair  employers,  offices 
which  are  not  standardized  have  to  be  dealt  with 
guardedly.  Teachers  in  private  and  public  conmier- 
cial  schools,  the  head  of  the  employment  depart- 
ment in  one  of  the  typewriting  companies,  and  a 
former  superintendent  of  the  women's  department 
in  an  employment  bureau,  all  offer  testimony  that 
there  are  numerous  employers  who  cannot  be  trusted 
of  their  own  accord  to  raise  the  initial  wages,  even 


Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer       263 

after  the  girFs  probation  period  is  past.  The  lowest 
acceptable  minimum  salary  for  a  stenographer  who 
has  passed  this  period,  as  set  by  a  business  school 
teacher,  is  $7.00;  and,  as  set  by  the  head  of  the  em- 
ployment department  of  a  typewriter  company, 
is  $8.00.  Yet  the  teachers  and  placing  agents  say 
employers  will  telephone  for  *'a  good  girl,  one  who 
will  turn  out  the  work,  etc.,  etc.,"  offering  in  return 
a  wage  of  $5.00  or  $6.00  with  no  guarantee  of  a 
raise  when  the  girl  has  made  good. 

An  unjust  employer  may  curtail  the  advancement 
of  .girls  in  office  work  in  two  ways: 

First:  Because  he  prefers  to  employ  cheap  rather 
than  efficient  service.    . 

Second:  Because  he  has  worked  out  a  system 
whereby  a  girl  is  dismissed  as  soon  as  she  reaches 
the  highest  value  and  her  place  is  taken  by  the  girl 
just  subordinate  to  her. 

The  injustice  of  this  first  method  is  obvious. 
There  is  something  very  wrong  in  considering 
a  worker's  chief  asset  her  cheapness.  Much  poor 
work  is  tolerated  by  employers  who  nevertheless 
continue  to  retain  the  very  girls  of  whose  work  they 


264     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

are  loudly  complaining.  Out  of  a  total  of  62  em- 
ployers of  the  graduates  of  a  certain  business  school, 
who  were  interviewed  about  the  quality  of  work 
done  by  their  girl  employees,  over  one-fifth  were  un- 
able to  recommend  those  who  were  either  still  in 
their  employ  or  who  had  left  their  employ  of  their 
own  accord. 

A  teacher  in  a  private  business  school  said 
with  a  great  deal  of  bitterness,  '^It  is  hard  to 
maintain  a  standard  of  fair  wages.  Some 
employers,  it  seems  to  me,  prefer  a  girl  who  will 
work  for  $5.00  a  week  rather  than  a  competent, 
well-trained  girl  who  demands  more.^'  She 
added,  '^Such  imtrained  young  things,  especially 
if  they  are  pretty,  secure  positions  frequently, 
but  further  than  that  deceptive  opening  they 
probably  never  get.^' 

The  employer  who  will  take  a  girl  from  a  school 
before  she  has  completed  her  work,  or  without  a 
recommendation  from  that  school,  is  doing  an  in- 
justice not  only  to  that  particular  school,  but  to  all 
the  other  girls  who  are  working  for  further  prepara- 
tion. He  has  selfishly  deprived  the  girl  he  thus 
secures  of  her  rightful  preparation  for  advancement. 


Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer      265 

The  girl  who  will  leave  school  before  she  is  prepared, 
in  order  to  take  a  cheap,  easy  place,  is  pulling  down 
the  standard  of  work  and  wages,  and  her  Nemesis 
will  probably  come  in  a  continuance  of  the  low 
salary  at  which  she  started. 

The  second  kind  of  unfairness  consists  in  conduct- 
ing the  office  on  the  principle  of  the  ^'squeeze''  as 
a  popular  writer  has  called  it,  and  it  is  a  system 
that  placing  agents  sometimes  encounter. 

The  injustice  of  this  method  is  illustrated  by 
the  experience  of  a  girl  in  the  office  of  a  large 
retail  store.  She  was  a  graduate  of  a  business 
course  and  was  placed  in  the  bookkeeping  de- 
partment. Being  accurate  and  hard-working, 
she  was  gradually  advanced  until  she  was 
holding,  at  $10.00  a  week,  the  highest  position 
open  to  women  in  that  department.  Her  work 
in  that  place  was  not  very  different  from  that 
of  the  girl  just  below  her  who  was  receiving 
a  Httle  lower  salary.  After  she  had  held  her 
$10.00  position  for  some  months,  she  was 
asked  to  leave  as  her  services  were  no  longer 
required.  The  girl  just  below  was  promoted 
to  the  advanced  place  paying  $10.00.  This 
second  girl  imderstood  the  work,  and  more- 
over had  the  spur  of  promotion  to  make  her 


266     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

double  her  efforts,  but  she  also  was  doomed  to 
hold  the  position  only  a  short  time,  since  a 
third  girl  was  in  line  to  take  over  the  work  in 
the  coveted  place. 

This  system  sets  a  definite  limit  to  advancement, 
and  rewards  faithful  service  by  dismissal  just  at  the 
point  when  a  good  salary  is  reached.  Such  a  method 
does  not  conform  to  the  modem  ideals  of  efficiency, 
and  is  an  example  of  flagrant  injustice  to  the  earnest 
efforts  of  the  ambitious  worker,  giving  only  the 
semblance  of  advancement  to  those  below  the  top. 

The  place  of  routine  must  be  considered  in  present- 
ing the  demands  of  the  average  employer,  for  in 
every  office  there  is  a  great  deal  of  drudgery  to  be 
done  at  all  times;  and  the  question  is,  how  this 
inevitable  mass  of  detail  work  is  going  to  be  ad- 
equately taken  care  of  without  too  much  personal 
cost  to  the  worker  and  expense  to  the  employer. 
The  introduction  of  machinery  into  the  office  effi- 
ciently deals  with  a  vast  amount  of  detail,  but  the 
machines  require  of  the  operator  a  monotonous 
kind  of  work  that  offers  little  stimulus  or  interest. 
It  may  be  that  in  the  future  more  and  more  drudg- 


Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer      267 

ery  will  be  carried  by  machinery,  and  the  operation 
of  the  machines  will  become  more  interesting  be- 
cause it  will  demand  a  higher  degree  of  intelligence 
and  skill.  But  psychologists  and  efficiency  experts 
do  not  agree  that  monotonous  work  per  se  is  nec- 
essarily an  injustice  to  those  required  to  do  it.  Mr. 
Miinsterberg  in  his  book  *^  Psychology  and  Industrial 
Efficiency"  suggests  that  there  are  a  great  many 
workers  who  are  more  adapted  to  work  requiring 
repetition  than  to  work  requiring  constant  mental 
and  physical  readjustment.  He  reduces  the  problem 
of  monotony  to  the  selection  of  '^ habit  workers" 
for  routine  work,  and  declares  that  when  work  is 
assigned  on  the  basis  of  fitness  no  one  will  be  given 
work  to  do  which  is  essentially  burdensome  and 
unsatisfactory  to  her. 

Although,  hitherto,  office  work  has  not  met  with 
as  serious  consideration  from  employers  as  pro- 
ductive work — i.  e.,  factory  work,  selling,  advertising, 
and  organizing,  there  is  now  a  tendency  to  standard- 
ize office  work  and  to  develop  the  possibiUties  of 
office  workers  in  the  same  degree  that  the  productive- 
ness of  factory  workers  has  been  developed.     A 


268     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

great  many  establishments  now  try  to  determine 
by  interview  and  question  the  kind  of  work  desired 
by  the  appUcant  for  an  office  position;  and  Mr. 
Miinsterberg  suggests  how  to  make  this  rudimen- 
tary process  complete  and  scientific  by  giving  the 
appHcant  a  psychological  test  for  the  work  open  to 
her.  These  tests  have  not  as  yet  been  widely 
adopted,  but  Mr.  Miinsterberg  states  that  they  will 
be  worked  out  for  general  use  as  soon  as  psychology 
is  appHed  directly  to  commerce  by  the  establish- 
ment of  psychological  laboratories  for  that  purpose. 
*  An  instance  of  the  value  to  the  employer  of  this 
careful  selection  of  workers  is  found  in  the  success 
of  the  Curtis  Publishing  Company  in  developing 
tests  for  filing  clerks,  typists  and  stenographers. 

By  such  scientific  tests  waste  of  time,  fruitless 
effort,  and  wrong  use  of  human  material  will  be 
prevented,  and  assignment  of  work  according  to 
adaptabihty  will  be  promoted. 

An  efficiency  expert  in  Cleveland  states  that 

*  A  further  description  of  these  tests  will  be  found  in  Mr.  J. 
E.  Schulze's  book,  "  The  American  Office." 


Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer      269 

the  person  proved  by  test  to  be  adapted  to 
routine  work  is  by  no  means  a  subject  for 
commiseration.  In  his  opinion  monotony  for 
such  people  has  an  entirely  favorable  aspect. 
As  they  become  more  and  more  used  to  their 
work,  brain  and  hand  move  together  without 
conscious  effort,  and  the  thinking  part  of  the 
mind  is  left  free  and  unwearied,  or  else  is  pleas- 
antly occupied  in  effort  in  which  sameness 
brings  no  strain  or  rebellion.  Such  a  person  must 
get  stimulus  and  inspiration  outside  his  every- 
day work;  but,  according  to  this  expert,  he  is 
fresher  and  more  ready  for  recreation  and 
mental  and  physical  effort  of  a  different  kind 
than  the  worker  who  has  been  engaged  in  more 
complex  work  demanding  mental  and  nervous 
strain. 


Another  attitude  toward  routine  recognizes  it  as 
a  present  problem  and  considers  that  until  routine 
work  can  be  assigned  only  to  those  who  prefer  it, 
such  work  is  Hkely  to  be  burdensome.  This  attitude 
is  illustrated  by  the  organization  of  a  certain  ofl&ce 
in  Cleveland  where  the  detail  work  is  to  some 
extent  divided  among  all  the  workers  in  the  office 
except  the  executives  and  supervisors  and  does  not 
entirely  devolve  upon  a  few  habit  workers,  with 


270     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

the  result  that  some  original  and  responsible  work 
is  assigned  almost  every  worker. 

This  employer  in  an  insurance  company  is 
really  studying  the  office  system  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  girl  and  is  changing  it  to  make 
it  more  advantageous  to  her.  A  great  deal  of 
mechanical  work  is  required :  filling  out  pohcies, 
writing  up  records  and  forms,  checking,  filing 
and  copying.  New  girls  are  started  at  mechan- 
ical and  routine  work,  and  when  they  have  be- 
come adjusted  to  the  place  are  allowed  to  share 
some  responsibility  and  to  assist  department 
heads.  There  are  only  three  girls  who  have 
unchanging  work;  one  of  these  is  in  full  charge 
of  the  files.  She  can  organize  her  work  as  she 
pleases  and  has  become  an  expert.  This  em- 
ployer wants,  rather  than  habit  workers,  girls 
who  are  ready  to  insist  upon  a  chance  to  grow, 
and  he  is  convinced  that  his  efforts  to  give  the 
individual  girl  a  chance  for  development  has 
resulted  in  more  inteUigent  and  faithful  service. 

Routine  is  a  problem  of  the  present.  Tests  of 
individual  fitness  for  this  sort  of  work  have  not 
been  thoroughly  worked  out  or  extensively  apphed. 
There  is  an  immediate  need  for  more  widespread 
attention  and  effort  in  this  direction  on  the  part  of 


Just  Demands  of  the  Average  Employer      271 

practical  psychologists  and  employers.  For  workers 
who  are  permanently  assigned  routine  work,  there 
is  special  need  for  legislation  limiting  the  hours  of 
work. 

Success  for  the  office  worker,  it  has  been  shown, 
covers  these  points: 

First.  The  office  worker  must  offer  the  right 
inherent  quaUfications. 

Second,  She  should  have  a  high  school  educa- 
tion and  business  training,  so  that  she  may 
have  the  best  opportunity  for  advancement. 

Third,  If  she  is  given  a  probation  wage,  it 
should  be  raised  as  soon  as  she  is  tested  and  has 
passed  the  period  of  adjustment. 

Fourth.  Her  assignment  of  work  should  be 
on  a  basis  of  her  fitness. 

The  average  employer — of  a  hundred  girls  or  of 
one  girl — is  the  man  who  is  making  his  own  way  in 
the  business  world  and  is  counting  every  penny.  He 
is  intelligent  and  human,  although  he  may  have  to 
be  forced  to  improve  conditions  for  his  workers  if 
it  means  expenditure  of  money.  He  is  thoroughly 
assured  now  that  more  work  can  actually  be  done 
in  a  ten  hour  day  than  was  formerly  done  in  twelve 


272     Commercial  Work  and  Training  for  Girls 

hours,  and  it  would  be  quite  as  possible  to  convert 
him  to  the  belief  that  a  well  trained  office  girl  is  a 
better  investment,  after  all,  than  an  ignorant  shp- 
shod  worker,  even  though  the  latter  will  work  for 
less  than  a  Uving  wage.  This  conversion  will  come 
about  when  commercial  schools  have  so  raised  their 
educational  requirements  that  the  supply  of  workers 
offered  the  employer  will  be  limited  to  a  high  type 
whose  value  he  will  come  to  appreciate  to  the  extent 
of  meeting  the  increased  cost.  The  responsibiUty 
for  raising  tne  standard  of  commercial  work  belongs 
equallv  to  commercial  schools,  employers  and  office 
workers. 


APPENDIX 

SCHEDULES  USED  IN  INVESTIGATIONS 

■TV 

Forms  I  to  V  inclusive:  specimen  set  of  cards  for  one 
complete  investigation  of  an  office  establishment. 

Forms  VI  to  X  inclusive:  blank  schedules  used  in  additional 
records. 


Office  Work.    General  Conditions  and  Organization.    I,  I+,  II 


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SoUcitation.    Record  of  Private  Commercial  School  Solicitation 
of  Eighth  Grade  Pupil.    X 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Oflfice  Work  and  Office  Training  for  Girls 
Books  and  Articles  Published  1909-1914 


Title 

Author 

Publisher 

Comment 

Accountancy  & 

New    York 

Narrative  account 

the       Business 

. 

City        High 

of  business  engin- 

Professions. 

School  Teach- 

eering and  accoun- 

ers'   Associa- 

tancy. 

tion. 

The    American 

J.  E.  Schuke. 

Key  Publish- 

An  idealistic   yet 

Office. 

ing  Co. 

practical  presenta- 
tion of  a  standard- 
ized office. 

Applied  Busi- 

Hubert  Hagar 

.  Gregg  Pub- 

One-year course  of 

iness  English. 

' 

lishing  Co. 

daily  lessons  in 
English  for  com- 
mercial schools. 

The    Two-year 

Wm.  Bachrach.  Educational 

Very      suggestive 

Stenographic 

Bi-Monthly 

account  of  public 

Course  at  The 

Magazine. 

commercial  educa- 

Parker      High 

tion;  shows  close 

School. 

connection    be- 
tween school  and 
business. 

Finding  Employ- 

Chicago School  Brief    outline    of 

ment    for    Chil- 

of   Civics    & 

business  work  for 

dren  Who  Leave 

Philanthropy. 

immature  girls. 

the  Grade  School 

to  Go  to  Work. 

Citizenship  and 

J.  W.  Jenks. 

Henry  Holt  & 

Excellent  but  gen- 

the Schools. 

Company. 

eral  statement  of 
relation     between 

285 


286 

Bibliography 

Title 

AuLhrr 

Publisher 

Comment 
school    and    busi- 
ness. 

Civil  Service. 

New    York 

Account  of  re- 

City   High 

quirements   of 

School  Teach- 

Civil  Service   ex- 

ers'    Associa- 

aminations   and 

* 

tion. 

how  to  prepeire  for 
them. 

Commercial    & 

Government 

Statistical     tables 

Business  Schools 

Report. 

of  numbers  of 
students  in  private 
and  pubhc  com- 
mercial schools. 

The    Depart- 

Meyer Bloom- 

The  Vocation 

Complete  analysis 

ment  Store. 

field. 

Bureau — Bos- 

of store  orga,niza- 

ton. 

tion,  reference  to 
office  work  sug- 
gestive rather  than 
exact  or  exhaust- 
ive. 

Everyday  Bus- 

Mary A.  Wil- 

Plain statement  of 

iness  for  Women. 

bur. 

principles     and 
practice  of  every- 
day business. 

Industrial  Edu- 

Harlow S. 

Houghton, 

Some    interesting 

cation. 

Person. 

Mifflin  Co. 

charts,  good  gen- 
eral comment  on 
present  commer- 
cial schools,  vague 
and  general  sug- 
gestions. 

Library    Bulle- 

Philadelphia 

Fairly   complete 

tin  No.  2.     A 

Board  of  Ed- 

bibliography     on 

Working  Library 

ucation. 

vocational  guid- 

on   Vocational 

ance;   best   books 

Guidance. 

suggested  are  men- 
tioned here. 

Bibliography 


287 


TiOe 
The  Living  Wage 
of  Women  Work- 


Author  Publisher 

Women's  Ed- 
ucational    & 
Industrial 
Union — Bos- 
ton. 


Office  Training    Rupert  P.  So-    Gregg     Pub- 
for      Stenogra-    relle.  lishing  Co. 

phers. 


Outline  of  the 
Business    Field 
&  Chart  of  Bus- 
iness Courses. 
Proof  Reading. 


Psychology  & 
Industrial  Effi- 
ciency. 


Extension  Di- 
vision Bulle- 
tin. 


Hugo  MUn- 
sterberg. 


Psychological        Leonard   P. 
Tests  in  Voca-    Ayres. 
tional  Guidance. 


University  of 
Wisconsin. 


Women's  Ed- 
ucational    & 
Industrial 
Union. 
Houghton, 
Mifflin  Co. 


Russell    Sage 
Foundation. 


Publishing  Women's  Edu- 

House  Work.  cational  &  In- 

dustrial Union. 
Report  on  Vocar   Geo.  H.  Mead,  City  Club  of 
tional  Training.     Chairman    of    Chicago. 
Committee. 


Comment 
Tables  of  statistics 
on  average  ex- 
penditure for  liv- 
ing expenses.    In- 
cludes  clerical 
workers. 

Series  of  exercises 
to  instruct  stenog- 
raphers in  actual 
use  of  letterheads 
and  business  forms. 
Interesting  as  an 
outline  of  types  of 
business. 

Brief  general  out- 
line of  conditions 
of  work  and  re- 
quirements. 
Shows  the  relation 
of  psychology  and 
business.  Dis- 

cusses assignment 
of  work  on  basis  of 
fitness. 

Summary  of  psy- 
chological tests  to 
determine  voca- 
tional fitness 
worked  out  up  to 
this  time. 
General  outline. 


Contains  one  chap- 
ter of  interesting 
discussion  of  prob- 


288 

Bibliography 

Tide 

Author 

Publisher 

Comment 
blem  of  commer- 
cial training. 

Salesmen    in 

Elizabeth    B. 

RusseU    Sage 

Generally  suggest- 

Mercantile 

Butler. 

Foundation. 

ive    and  interest- 

Stores. 

ing.  Reference  to 
office  work. 

Stenography  & 

Girls'    Trade 

Fair    estimate    of 

Typewriting. 

Education 

requirements   and 

League — Bos- 

advantages of  this 

ton. 

occupation. 

Story      of      a 

Katherine 

Collier's  Mag- 

Narrative of  girl's 

Stenographer. 

March. 

azine. 

struggle  to  hve  on 
$6.00  a  week,  and 
her  need  of  voca- 
tional guidance. 

Survey  of  Occu- 

Harriet H. 

Gu-ls'    Trade 

Suggests  probable 

pations  open  to 

Dodge. 

Education 

advancement      of 

the     Girl     14^ 

League — Bos- 

cashiers and  bun- 

16 years. 

ton. 

dle  girls  to  office 
work. 

Twelve      Prin- 

Harrington 

Engineering 

The  spirit  of  this 

ciples    of    Effi- 

Emerson. 

Magazine  Co. 

ideal  study  of  effi- 

ciency. 

ciency  may  be  ap- 
plied to  office  or- 
ganization. 

Vocations  for 

E.  W.  Weaver, 

A.  S.  Barnes, 

Makes  up  in  good 

Girls. 

Editor. 

N.Y. 

advice  for  lack  of 
definiteness  in  in- 
formation. 

Vocations     for 

Lasselle  and 

Houghton, 

Gives  general  in- 

Gu-ls. 

WUey. 

Mifflin  Co. 

formation. 

Vocational 

Conmiittee  of 

Valuable     outline 

Training. 

Association  of 

of  institutions  in 

Collegiate 

U.  S.  for  vocation- 

Alumnae— 

al    training.      In- 

Phila. 

cludes  special  bus- 
iness courses. 

Bibliography 

289 

TiOe 

Author 

Publisher 

Comment 

Vocations  for 

Women's  Ed- 

Valuable   sugges- 

the       Trained 

ucational  &  In- 

tions of  positions 

Woman. 

dustrial  Un. 

suitable    for    the 

college-trained 

woman. 

A  Hand  Book  of 

Women's  Mu- 

Complete and  well 

Opportunities 

nicipal 

organized    outline 

for    Vocational 

League — Bos- 

of local  opportun- 

Training in  Bos- 

ton. 

ities  for  training. 

ton. 

Women      Who 

Louis  Bawry. 

Worid  Today 

Narrative         ac- 

Conduct Great 

Magazine. 

count. 

BuRiness. 

'HE  following  pages  contain  advertisements  of  a 
few  of  the  Macmillan  books  on  kindred  subjects 


HOME  USE 

CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

MAIN  LIBRARY 

1976 


''V^iiii 


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Rtc.  cm. 


3  78 


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!ECM8C 


B     31978 


JCV2 


.%'4:' 


j     '«''^'*«?sWt»0'^3 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


^^^^^■YB  C5022I 


5,f«'."^f 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  LIBRARY 


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